Improving Productivity & Market Success of Ethiopian Farmers Sixth Progress Report (April 2007 – September 2007) List of Abbreviations ACSI Amhara Credit & Savings Institute AHI African Highland Initiative AI Artificial Insemination ARARI Amhara Regional Agricultural Research Institute ARI Agricultural Research Institute ATVET Agricultural Technical Vocational Education and Training College BBM Broad Bed Maker BoARD Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development (at regional level) BOAM Business Organization and their Access to Markets BPR Business Process Re-engineering CAD Canadian Dollar CBD Coffee Berry Disease CBO Community-Based Organizations CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CIAT Centro International de Agricultural Tropical CIDA Canadian International Development Agency CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre DA Development Agent DDG Deputy Director General DG Director General DVM Doctor of Veterinary medicine DZARC Debrezeith Agricultural Research Institute EARS Ethiopian Agricultural Research System EAP Ethiopian Agricultural Portal ECCO Ethiopia-Canada Cooperation Office ECEX Ethiopian Commodity Exchange EDRI Ethiopian Development and Research Institute EEPA Ethiopian Export Promotion Agency EIAR Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research (formerly EARO) EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESE Ethiopian Seed Enterprise ESSP Ethiopian Strategy Support Program FTC Farmer Training Center GoE Government of Ethiopia HIV Human Immune-Deficiency Virus IARC International Agricultural Research Center (not limited to CGIAR) ICRAF World Agroforestry Centre IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute ILDP Integrated Livelihood Development Program IIDP Integrated Institution Development Program for Ethiopia ILRI International Livestock Research Institute IPM Integral Pest Management IPoE International Panel of Experts IPMS Improving Productivity and Market Success ISNAR International Service for National Agricultural Research IWMI International Water Management Institute JARC Jimma Agricultural Research Center KM Knowledge Management LVIA Associazione Internazionale Volontari Laici LoA Letter of Agreement MIS Management Information System M & E Monitoring and Evaluation MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ethiopia) MoU Memorandum of Understanding NAIRC National Agricultural Information Resource Centre NALC National Advisory and Learning Committee NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRM Natural Resource Management OARI Oromia Agricultural Research Institute OoPRD Office of Pastoral and Rural Development PA Peasant Association PADEP Peasant Agricultural Development Program PADETES Participatory Demonstration and Training Extension System PI Performance Indicators PIC Project Implementation Committee PIP Project Implementation Plan PLW Pilot Learning Woreda (Previously PLS) PMF Performance Measurement Framework PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal PSC Project Steering Committee R&D Research and Development RALC Regional Advisory and Learning Committee RARI Regional Agricultural Research Institute (Ethiopia) RBM Result Based Management RCBP Rural Capacity Building Project RDAs Research and Development Assistants RDOs Research and Development Officers RELC Research Extension Liaison Committees SARI Southern Regional Agricultural Research Institute SMS Subject Matter Specialist SNNPR Southern Nation Nationalities and People’s Region SNV Netherlands Development Organization TARI Tigray Agricultural Research Institute TOT Training of Trainers TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training College TAMSA Tigray Agricultural Marketing Support Agency USAID United States Agency for International Development VPN Virtual Private Network WALC Woreda Advisory and Learning Committee WB World Bank WHIST Water Harvesting Institutional Strengthening Tigray WKC Woreda Knowledge Center Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... i 1 Knowledge management ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Knowledge gap assessment.............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Knowledge capturing/assembling/synthesis .................................................................... 1 1.3 Process and mechanisms for knowledge sharing ............................................................. 2 1.4 Establishing a National Agricultural Information Resource Centre ................................ 4 1.5 Establishing ICT networks & infrastructure .................................................................... 4 1.6 Assessment of outputs and outcomes knowledge management ...................................... 6 2 Innovation capacity development ........................................................................................... 7 2.1 Strengthening capacity development of public sector partners ....................................... 7 2.1.1. Capacity development of educational institutions ................................................... 7 2.1.2 MSc/BSc training ...................................................................................................... 7 2.1.3 Market-oriented participatory market extension training ......................................... 8 2.1.4 Knowledge management/GIS/promotion ................................................................. 8 2.1.5 Awareness creation on project concepts ................................................................... 9 2.1.6 Gender and HIV/AIDS ........................................................................................... 10 2.1.7 Environment ............................................................................................................ 10 2.1.8 Monitoring and evaluation ...................................................................................... 10 2.1.9 Woreda in service skills and infrastructure development ....................................... 11 2.1.10 Innovation system and marketing research capacity ............................................ 11 2.2 Strengthening capacity farmers and private sector partners .......................................... 11 2.3 Developing institutional linkages and culture of sharing and learning.......................... 11 2.3.1 WALC/RALC/NALC ............................................................................................. 11 2.3.2 Woreda commodity platforms ................................................................................ 12 2.3.3 Other events/structures in which IPMS is participating ......................................... 12 2.4 Assessment of innovation capacity development outputs and outcomes ...................... 12 3 Participatory commodity development ................................................................................. 14 3.1 Establishment of 10 PLWs............................................................................................. 14 3.2 Livestock commodities .................................................................................................. 14 3.2.1 Large and small ruminants meat and dairy development ....................................... 14 3.2.2 Apiculture ............................................................................................................... 21 3.2.3 Poultry ..................................................................................................................... 22 3.2.4 Fish .......................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Crop commodities .......................................................................................................... 24 3.3.1 Cereals (teff, wheat, rice, sorghum ......................................................................... 24 3.3.2 Pulses (haricot bean, chickpea, soya bean, field peas/faba beans) ......................... 27 3.3.3 Fruits ....................................................................................................................... 29 3.3.4 Irrigated vegetables (onion, tomato, cabbage, carrot) ............................................. 31 3.3.5 Oil crops (sesame, noug, safflower, ground nut) .................................................... 34 3.3.6 Coffee ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.3.7 Hot pepper ............................................................................................................... 35 3.3.8 Spices ...................................................................................................................... 37 3.3.9 Cotton ...................................................................................................................... 37 3.4 Assessment of outputs and outcomes in participatory commodity development .......... 38 4 Improving policies and programs ......................................................................................... 39 4.1 Knowledge management research ................................................................................. 39 4.2 Capacity development research ..................................................................................... 39 4.3 Appropriate technologies for market-oriented priority commodities ............................ 39 4.3.1 Commodity value chain components ...................................................................... 39 4.3.2 Innovations and innovation processes .................................................................... 43 4.4 Environment research .................................................................................................... 44 4.5 Gender and HIV/AIDS research .................................................................................... 44 4.6 Promotion ....................................................................................................................... 45 4.7 Assessment of output and outcomes policy and program improvement ....................... 45 5 Project management .............................................................................................................. 46 5.1 Recruitment of IPMS and other staff ............................................................................. 46 5.2 Recruitment of consultants and experts ......................................................................... 46 5.3 Contracting research and development partners ............................................................ 47 5.4 Office establishment and procurement of good ............................................................. 48 5.5 Project planning, monitoring and evaluation ................................................................. 49 5.6 Project reporting............................................................................................................. 49 Executive Summary The long term goal of the IPMS project is to contribute to improved agricultural productivity and production through market-oriented agricultural development, as a means for achieving improved and sustainable livelihoods for the rural population. The medium term purpose is to strengthen the effectiveness of the government’s efforts to transform agricultural productivity, production, and rural development in Ethiopia to a more market-oriented agricultural development. To achieve this purpose four key components are targeted:  Knowledge management  Innovation capacity development of partners  Participatory marketable commodity development  Development and promotion of recommendations for scaling out Gender, HIV/AIDS and environmental considerations are mainstreamed in each of these components. In the past six months, which covered the period March 2007 to September 2007, the project became operational in one additional woreda, namely Bure Woreda. This means the project is now operational in ten woredas. The project has put emphasis on the institutionalization of the project research and development activities, especially at the regional and woreda levels. The RALCs and WALCs have been actively involved in developing the program of work for this third year of project operation and have also started formally monitoring the program utilizing indicators established earlier. A good start has also been made with sharing lessons-learned in the RALCs and WALCs, especially the thesis research conducted by MSc students sponsored by the project, the inter regional study tours and filed visits. However such sharing of lessons need to be institutionalized/adopted uniformly across the 10 PLWs and 4 regions especially since the lessons to be learned are increasing rapidly. The Ethiopian Agricultural Research System (EARS) is now involved in facilitating the scaling out and documentation part of the innovation (process) and their impact in collaboration with the project staff and other partners. The following major activities and outputs were accomplished during this reporting period. Knowledge management The expected outcome from the project’s knowledge management component is the creation of a functional agricultural knowledge management system operationalized and utilized at Woreda and Federal levels, highlighting innovations and appropriate technologies. ii At the Federal level, the project completed the installation and handing over of the hardware and software for the National Agricultural Resource Center (NAIRC) to the MoARD. The system developed includes, amongst others, five servers which include i) an e-mail server and associated software that hosts an enterprise email system for the MoARD, ii) a web server and associated database server that powers the Ethiopian Agriculture Portal, iii) a systems management server that is used to provide services such as centralized anti-virus platform, centralized security and systems update platform, and centralized backup services, and iv) an Internet Security and Acceleration server used as software firewall and Internet caching., and v) Windows active directory and other network services server. While the system is fully functional, full-scale operation is awaiting the finalization of the MoARD business reengineering process, which is expected to result in major manpower, organizational and process changes. The project has started populating the Ethiopian Agricultural Portal and a total of 125 relevant documents have been entered on the priority marketable commodities, partly supplied by the various departments of the MoARD. Servers to set up minor sites for the EAP in the Regional Agricultural Research Institutes (RARIs) and the Regional BoARDs have been procured and delivered to project headquarters. Deployment to the respective institutions will take place in the next half year. In the PLWs, knowledge gap assessment, capturing and dissemination is gradually getting institutionalized. For example, knowledge capturing and dissemination with the help of local level (Woreda and/or Kebele) technology exhibitions/fares have been held in Tigray and Fogera. A workshop to improve and strengthen the use of Woreda Knowledge Centers by the intended beneficiaries was held during this reporting period, including provision of more relevant materials, Internet access, and linkages with knowledge generating organizations in MoARD and others. Television sets and DVD players purchased for two FTCs in each PLW are used as additional knowledge sharing tools. Two more sets of TVs and DVD players for two additional FTCs per Woreda will be purchased in the next reporting period. Some PLWs have started capturing and dissemination of market information. Innovation capacity development The expected outcome of the project’s capacity development component is strengthened innovation capacity of public and private actors in the agriculture sector including farmers, pastoralists, community-based and private sector organizations, and public organizations in agriculture and natural resource management, to support the development of small-holder, market-oriented agricultural production systems. Thirty five more staff members from the Woreda and Zonal Offices of Agriculture and Rural Development and research organizations enrolled in local universities for their MSc/BSc education in subjects relevant for market- oriented agricultural development. Furthermore, two staff members joined universities abroad for MSc degree programs in IT-based knowledge management and knowledge-based extension system. During this reporting period, 12 more MSc/thesis sponsored students graduated, bringing the total number of project-supported MSc level graduates to 18. iii To help scale out project innovations in PLWs, a training of trainers (ToT) course on participatory market-oriented extension was provided to participants from the PLWs and Regions. To build the capacity of research partners documenting scaling out processes, a course was organized for researchers, who will be involved in PLW-specific commodity development activities. To capacitate the project and Woreda staff in assessing gender and HIV/AIDS situations in their working environment, easy-to-apply toolkits were developed. Furthermore, idea sheets were developed for both topics, providing suggestions for designing interventions. The toolkits and idea sheets will be distributed widely. A stakeholder workshop was organized to assess the monitoring of the PLW environmental impact plans which had been developed early on in the project life. It was agreed that the project’s research and development assistant plus the Woreda natural resources subject matter specialist produce these reports. Participatory commodity development The expected project outcome for the project’s participatory commodity development component is the adoption of appropriate technologies, innovative input supply – output marketing, and financial services in order to improve agricultural productivity and market success in the PLWs. The process of participatory commodity development has continued in all PLWs, including Goma and Bure PLWs, which joined the project recently. New interventions were started and/or existing interventions have started showing results, including the following production and input supply interventions: i) introduction of new/improved rice, chickpea, haricot bean, cotton, wheat, hot pepper, and fruit varieties ii) introduction of improved crop husbandry and post harvest interventions including land preparation, weed control, soil fertility and (irrigation) water management, coffee drying, and sesame storage iii) introduction of local breeds in new areas (Borana, Washere, Begait) for fattening and/or dairy production iv) introduction of fodder interventions, in particular grazing area development, introduction of fodder species, improved use of crop residues, improved use of supplements and concentrates v) introduction of alternative crop and livestock input supply/services including villages/cooperative input supply shops, farmer-based seed production system, private fruit tree nurseries, private bull service stations, private paravets, and private crop spraying services The project staff/partners assisted in developing market linkages and the supply of market information. Some market intervention resulting from recommendations from completed iv thesis research were initiated, notably the calibration of scales and discussion of trading times of hot pepper. Innovative credit service was introduced through existing lending institutions, in particular for short term fattening, fishery development, apiculture, small scale irrigation equipment, and input supply shops. Improving policies and programs The expected outcome of this project component is strategies, policy and technology options, and institutional innovations developed (from research and lessons-learned), documented and promoted in order to enhance market-oriented agricultural development. Research aimed at generating knowledge for the design of interventions and documenting the lessons-learned from the interventions for the development of policies and strategies expanded considerably during this reporting period, because of the increased involvement of the EARS. Most of the research is on-going and linked to the interventions in the other three project components i.e. knowledge management, capacity development, and participatory commodity development. Twelve MSc theses were completed, including research on extension, marketing and production. The project will repackage some of these theses as working paper series publications. Project staff and partners completed studies about the existing crop and livestock supply system and the apiculture development. New studies were launched in particular a study on feed marketing, which has been completed and a study on dairy innovations across the PLWs. A symposium on the commercialization of smallholder agriculture was co-organized with EIAR and ESSP (IFPRI) to promote project findings. In summary, the project is on course with the implementation of most of its activities. The outputs and outcomes are starting to emerge. However, the adoption of new processes and roles by the project partners remains a crucial determinant for the success of the project. The nearly completed business process re-engineering (BPR) in the MoARD at all levels should provide the right environment to facilitate such changes in processes and roles. It is therefore important that IPMS activities be more closely linked with the Ministry’s efforts to change. 1 1 Knowledge management The expected outcome from the project’s knowledge management component is the creation of a functional agricultural knowledge management system operationalized at Woreda and Federal levels, highlighting innovations and appropriate technologies. The realization of such a system will involve assessment of knowledge gaps, identifying and securing resources to narrow the identified knowledge gaps, and facilitating methods, approaches, and processes to share knowledge acquired during implementation or lessons-learned from IPMS and/or other experiences. In this section, a summary of the on-going knowledge management activities and outputs are presented together with an assessment of the achievements of the intended outputs and outcomes. 1.1 Knowledge gap assessment The project staff in collaboration with the Woreda Offices of Agriculture and Rural Development in the respective Woredas work to identify the knowledge input needed to develop the priority commodities. Interventions are taken based on the results of such assessments. An overview of some of the identified knowledge gaps in the PLWs is presented in Annex 1. 1.2 Knowledge capturing/assembling/synthesis The project in collaboration with local, regional, national, and international partners worked to narrow the knowledge gaps identified in each respective area. PLW staff have also captured/synthesized indigenous knowledge which were not directly related to identified knowledge gaps, but which may be used in the design of interventions. An overview of the captured and synthesized knowledge in the PLWs is presented in Annex 1. Steady progress has been made in strengthening the knowledge management centers established in each PLW. The collection of books, manuals, CDs, videos, and the sources from which these are procured (ILRI, local bookstores, in-house produced training manuals, etc) has been increasing. The project organized a two-day workshop in August to evaluate progress so far and map out steps that can be taken to strengthen the centers based on challenges observed during our own internal monitoring and evaluation report. Following this workshop, each PLW came up with action plans for their knowledge centers and many have started implementing them. As discussed in the section for the National Agricultural Information Resource Center (see 1.4), the hardware and software for the center has been developed and delivered to the MoARD. One of the concrete outcomes of having this center is the development of the Ethiopian Agriculture Portal (EAP). The portal is now accessible at www.eap.gov.et and the project has taken the lead in populating the portal with relevant content. The ultimate goal is for experts in the MoARD, Regional BoARD experts, and experts at the national and regional agricultural research centers to be the actual owners, contributors, and users of this portal. To 2 achieve this, the project has proposed the establishment of a Content Mangers group that will be composed of designated individuals from these institutions. The MoARD has in principle accepted this proposal and the group is expected to be formed soon after the reorganization at MoARD takes effect – which currently is expected to be in December. In the meantime, the project has assigned a fulltime staff to identify, collect, and upload appropriate agricultural documents sourced from MoARD internal collections as well as outside sources. The emphasis so far has been to capture documents and research outputs developed by the MoARD. About 125 such documents have so far been uploaded to the portal. However, outputs from agricultural projects active in Ethiopia, international agricultural research and development institutes and relevant sources on the internet will also be actively sought and some have already been included or linked to already. Synthesized research outputs and lessons-learned in working papers and other publications. Annex 2 provides an overview of the working papers and source materials/manuals and guidelines in progress. In spatial knowledge area, the following GIS activities were undertaken:  New PLWs (Goma and Bure) added to existing spatial database  New roads infrastructure added  All PLW boundaries updated after administrative changes  IPMS database synchronized with new ILRI spatial DBMS with the help of Nairobi GIS team.  Commodity-based market access analysis was conducted for all PLWs. Local markets and Addis Ababa were identified as targets. The output maps are now available in the IPMS GIS database and the IPMS ATLAS 2007. The following outputs were produced  Atlas 2007 depicts the IPMS PLWs in different themes such as : o Biophysical factors including extensive climatic attributes, edaphic classifications, hydrology and topographic variables. o Socio-economic features such as administrative boundaries, demography, roads, settlements, and other points of interest. o Commodity development potentials were also computed using spatial analysis covering the Ethiopian territory. We believe this output opens the way to scaling up/out IPMS activities. 1.3 Process and mechanisms for knowledge sharing Various means of knowledge sharing have been tested during the past two years and some have found better reception than others. Some of these are technology exhibitions, study tours, farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange, and occasional seminars, and workshops. An overview of these activities can be found in Annex 3. In Atsbi, the concept of technology exhibition has been taken to the next level. The PLW held 3 a Woreda technology exhibition and later held similar exhibitions in all 16 PA of the Woreda and reports from the field show that these exhibitions have been very successful venues for sharing ideas and innovations – many of which were local innovations. In several PLWs dissemination of market information has been initiated:  In Atsbi PLW, market information, from eight market places within and outside the Woreda, is disseminated by posting this information in all 16 PAs in the PLW.  Ada’a Woreda has introduced billboards in four FTCs to help disseminate weekly market information to farmers.  In Meisso, market information officially collected from market agents by the Woreda OoPRD marketing expert is made available to marketing groups on request.  Meisso also engages in roadside announcements of tape-recorded market information on every market day (Tuesdays and Thursdays). The market information is recorded in collaboration with FTCs and is used to disseminate prevailing market prices to both buyers and sellers.  Meisso OoPRD provides, via telephone, previous day market information (particularly on small ruminates) to livestock marketing groups. The market information is collected from ‘Export abattoirs agents’ regularly operating at Meisso PLW. These are ELFORA and Modjo Modern Slaughter and Export Abattoirs Various other means of knowledge sharing processes and methods are used by PLWs. For example, Alaba has done targeted technology and service promotions at various markets in the PLW. Examples include; promotion of specific forage seed varieties, promotion of available paravet service, and availability of input in private input supply shop, promotion of poultry feed, use of organic fertilizers, use of urea molasses blocks as animal feed supplements, etc. Alaba PLW also used a community of practice group among apiculture cooperative members where members regularly share their experiences, successes, and challenges in their endeavors, in addition to their normal cooperative routine tasks. Alaba also took advantage of visiting CIAT (ILRI sister organization in the CGIAR) scientists to conduct expert consultation session on haricot bean. Some PLWS (e.g. Alaba) have started setting up permanent exhibitions at FTCs much in line of putting demonstration materials as learning and knowledge sharing tools. Examples of demonstration items in the FTC are sample urea molasses blocks and ingredients, poultry feeds and ingredients, and samples of chemical fertilizer. Packets of forage seeds and 16 varieties of haricot bean were supplied with plastic pack and sealed box container with glass. WALCs and RALCs have also been used as a venues for knowledge sharing with varied intensity among the PLWs. 4 In addition to full length research reports and working papers, the project has also been producing various short newsletters, single page leaflets, and brochures both at the headquarters and PLWs levels. For example, Alaba, Meisso, Metema, (and soon Atsbi) have produced various newsletters, leaflets, posters, and other short publications. Topics covered in these publications include; preparation of urea-molasses blocks, preparation of feed for poultry, onion seed and bulb production, alternative feed sources for market-oriented livestock production, etc. . 1.4 Establishing a National Agricultural Information Resource Centre The project completed the development of the National Agricultural Information Resource Center (NAIRC) during this reporting period. All hardware, software, and supporting documentation have officially been transferred to MoARD. The system developed includes: 1. A web server and associated database server that powers the Ethiopian Agriculture Portal. 2. An e-mail server and associated software that hosts an enterprise email system for the MoARD 3. A systems management server that is used to provide services such as centralized anti-virus platform, centralized security and systems update platform, and centralized backup services 4. An Internet Security and Acceleration server used as software firewall and Internet caching, 5. The basic Windows network operating system server with active directory 6. Two 6 KVA redundant UPS systems for power protection 7. Two 14,000 BTU redundant air conditioning systems to maintain appropriate temperature for the servers room, and 8. Other network accessories such as network core switch and a router for access to broadband Internet service The project has been requested to hold the public launch of the enterprise e-mail system, agriculture portal and associated upgrades until December, to coincide with planned GoE announcement regarding MoARD reorganization as a result of an extended business process reengineering project that has just finished. Appropriate training sessions about Microsoft Exchange e-mail system and training about the agriculture portal twill also be given as part of a GoE training associated with the planned reorganization. 1.5 Establishing ICT networks & infrastructure Noteworthy activities that happened around establishment of ICT networks and infrastructure in this period include:  Hardware and software deployment at MoARD is completed as cited above.  Servers for setting up “mirror sites” for the Ethiopian Agriculture Portal in each 5 Regional Bureau of Agriculture & Rural Development and each Regional Agricultural Research Institute have already been procured and deployment will take place in the next few months.  Provision of twenty computers, twenty television sets, and twenty DVD players to be distributed to selected FTCs in each of the PLWs. Two FTCs with access to electricity and telephone lines are selected jointly by the Woreda OoARD and IPMS Woreda RDO to be beneficiaries of this initial round of ICT tools provision. Based on feedback from this round, the project plans to provide similar set of equipment to two additional FTCs per PLW – making the total number of FTCs equipped with such tools to four FTCs per PLW. The next round will focus on FTC that do not have access to electricity and for that reason will include generators as part of the package.  The project also covered the cost of one year broadband Internet connection with a capacity of 512 kbps to be used by the MoARD headquarters. Plans to interconnect six branch offices of the MoARD with broadband VPN connection were put on hold due to very high installation and subscription tariff charges demanded by Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) who is the sole provider of such services in Ethiopia and a plan for MoARD to consolidate all branch offices in one location.  Six computers, two printers, two television sets, and two DVD players were provided for the establishment of Woreda Knowledge Center in the two new additional PLWS of Bure and Goma.  One television set and one DVD player each is also provided to each of the remaining eight PLWs.  The two new PLWs (Bure & Goma) have already established their knowledge centers and the experience we gained from setting up the previous eight centers was instrumental in quickly setting the new centers the right way.  The project also contributed to the upgrading/maintenance of the physical infrastructure of the Woreda Knowledge Centers in Fogera and Alaba. Similar requests are expected from other PLWs.  Informal discussions were held with Tigray Regional State Bureau of Capacity Building about collaboration in connecting the two PLWs in the Region with WorldNet. The initial response has been very positive and we are now waiting for official request by the Region’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development to the Bureau of Capacity Building to formalize the agreement.  Towards the end of this reporting period, the project has also started the process of procuring equipment to be used by the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECEX) project as approved by CIDA. Specifically, procurement of 20 price ticker LED displays that will display market prices from the exchange pit to twenty remote sites is in progress. Some revision/rescheduling of the overall ECEX program has taken place in the meantime which has resulted in the ECEX project requesting IPMS to finance the initial phase of the management information system (MIS). Preparations are completed for procuring the requested MIS platform and procurement will occur once official approval is secured from CIDA 6 1.6 Assessment of outputs and outcomes knowledge management At its core, knowledge management is a support function that is undertaken to bring about commodity development. Beyond this core function, a culture of knowledge sharing should also enable the reuse of knowledge and tools that have proved successful and the avoidance of approaches that have not worked well in other similar settings. In our project, many of the PLWs have begun to correctly take the time and have the foresight to identify knowledge gaps in the development of commodities. Many of these identified knowledge gaps and what have been done to address them are included in this report. On the other hand, we still have a long way to go in the area of documenting knowledge (indigenous and introduced) and experiences with the goal of sharing it broadly. There is also a strong cultural bias toward holding back on what one knows probably due to fear of losing the advantage a given knowledge provides to the knowledge “owner” if it is shared with everyone. It will take consistent advocacy regarding the longer term value of a culture of knowledge sharing to bring about change in this respect. The project should lead by example and we need to do more in this front. The completion of the hardware and software development for the NAIRC is an important milestone. However, a lot of work remains in transforming it into an integral part of a knowledge sharing platform that the federal ministry, regional bureaus of agriculture, and research centers value as their own. This also brings the whole issue of institutionalization of the methods, tools, and processes of knowledge management among our stakeholders at various levels. While institutionalization is a two way street in that the institutions need to want to adopt it as much as the efforts made on the part of the project, we still need to establish a clear set of actions we can take to help move the process of institutionalization forward. Our internal project monitoring and evaluation this year revealed that the utilization of the Woreda Knowledge Centers varied greatly from one PLW to another. This ranges from WKCs that have become critical knowledge sharing venues to those which existed in name only. The project has taken steps to address the weaknesses observed and build on the strengths -- including experience sharing among the PLWs. Initial signs are that our renewed efforts have started to pay off. Other knowledge sharing approaches such as various print publication (newsletters, leaflets, posters) technology exhibitions, market information dissemination and various promotions and information sharing activities are increasing steadily in the PLWs. More needs to be done to make these efforts purposeful with predefined plans and measurable expected results. On balance, it is worth noting that there seems to be a general transformation across our PLWs in the notion of consciously valuing knowledge as a critical input in commodities development. As mentioned above, taking this to the next level of consciously thinking about, planning, and executing knowledge sharing with a broader set of potential beneficiaries is a task the project needs to work on in collaboration with our partners. 7 2 Innovation capacity development The expected outcome of the project’s capacity development component is strengthened innovation capacity of farmers, pastoralists, community-based and private sector organizations, and agriculture and natural resource management public organizations to support the development of small-holder, market-oriented agricultural production systems. In this section, a summary of the on-going capacity development activities and outputs are presented together with an assessment of the achievements of the intended outputs and outcomes. 2.1 Strengthening capacity development of public sector partners 2.1.1. Capacity development of educational institutions The staff members of Alage TVET continued with their MSc/BSc studies in local universities (see Annex 4 for an overview of the student’s involvement in the IPMS project). Linkages with nearby TVETs are maintained by IPMS PLW staff for capacity development activities and thesis research. IPMS staff visited the local universities to discuss students’ thesis 2.1.2 MSc/BSc training During the reporting period 34 staff entered MSc/BSc/DVM education at local Universities Table 1: Overview newly entered MSc/BSc and DVM students Organization Male Female MSc BSc DVM OoARD - Goma 3 3 2 3 1 OoARD - Bure 3 1 4 OARI 2 2 4 SARI 2 1 3 TARI 2 2 ARARI 2 2 East Shoa Zone 1 1 West Haraghe Zone 2 2 4 Sidama Zone 1 1 North Gondar Zone 2 2 South Gondar Zone 2 2 West Gojam Zone 2 1 3 8 Besides these candidates, 1 staff member of the MoARD has started his MSc education on Internet Computing and Network Security at Louborough University in England and one staff member of the BoARD in Tigray has started his MSc degree program in Agro- Ecological Knowledge and Social Change at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The project also builds the capacity of staff/students in general through financial and supervisory support for MSc thesis and BSc/DVM attachment students. An overview of the thesis and attachment students can be found in Annex 4. During this reporting period another 12 IPMS supported MSc students graduated, bringing the total number of MSc graduated students to 18. During the reporting period 6 DVM students also completed their theses on major animal health/disease issues in the PLWs. A short course on Market Access and Sustainable Development was identified as being appropriate for the chairpersons of the RALC to formulate policies to scale out market- oriented project innovations. The course will be held in Wageningen University from Nov 5 to 16 and the necessary logistical arrangements for their participation are in progress. Candidates for a short course on community fishery resource management were also identified; however the course was cancelled by the organizers. 2.1.3 Market-oriented participatory market extension training IPMS organized a residential Training of Trainers workshop on ‘Market-oriented Participatory Extension’ during 6-11 August 2007 in Debre Zeit. The objective of this training was to build capacity for market-oriented participatory extension system. This course was jointly designed and delivered by IPMS, ILRI, Farm Africa and CIAT. About 30 participants from IPMS, OoARDs in IPMS PLWs and representatives from the four Regions attended this training. The members of the business process reengineering team of Oromiya Region also attended this training. This workshop resulted in some regional action plans to expand the capacity in these skills of DAs and SMSs along with translation of the training material into local languages. Such training activities would be supported by IPMS. These draft action plans were to be discussed after the trained participants went back to their respective regions, discussed in WALC-RALC meetings and with senior regional and woreda level officials and finalized. Training material was developed for this course and will be published – also see knowledge management (see Annex 3 for details on participation). An additional, more elaborate module on agricultural marketing extension is being prepared for follow up courses. 2.1.4 Knowledge management/GIS/promotion The Project organized a two day workshop on August 20th and 21st, 2007 to evaluate the path we have taken in the development of Woreda Knowledge Centers and to explore what we need to do in the future to strengthen these centers. There were three participants from each Woreda including the WALC chair (or delegate), IPMS Research and Development 9 Assistants from each Woreda, and Woreda assigned Knowledge Center Coordinators in each Woreda. Participants shared their success and challenges in getting their centers up and running. This was an eye-opening experience for many of the participants since the degree of effort and associated output in each Woreda was very diverse. The participants prepared draft action plans for the next six months – including specific goals, accountable individual/entity, and time line of activities that need to be done to reach the goals. Participants shared lists of their electronic and printed collections of materials in their respective centers with the larger group. An orientation on the features and operations of the IPMS-developed agriculture portal was also given in the workshop. In addition, electronic versions (CD copies) of the IPMS-developed Woreda Atlas were distributed to each Woreda. One IPMS staff charged with the in-house production of videos attended a short video editing course using Avid video editing software. At the PLW level, attention has also been paid to increased skills on knowledge management. Amongst other two staff members from Atsbi Woreda attended a video production and editing course. To build the GIS capacity the project has done the following activities:  A survey was conducted in all PLWs with the exception of Bure woreda. Potential candidates for a basic GIS training were identified in each PLW.  At the regional level, a similar survey was conducted in all BoARDs and all RARIs. The outcome of the later indicates that BoARDs in all regions need a qualified GIS analysts and are working to recruit such professionals. However, although repeated job announcements were posted, the low salary scale the regions offer seems to discourage candidates. After discussion with department heads in the bureaus, we agreed to provide a short and tailored training to selected key professionals.  RARIs have also expressed a need to build their GIS capacity. Some are more advanced than others. ARARI and SARI require specific training in spatial analysis in line with their research activities. OARI’s and TARI’s request is more on software specific skill upgrades. The outcome of the survey conducted in all research institutes points to a case by case short GIS trainings that can materialize in 2 to 3 days of intense knowledge transfer type of activities within the institutions.  A basic GIS training material is designed and ready for production. 2.1.5 Awareness creation on project concepts  At the federal level the project organized a project familiarization session with the MoARD livestock department  Project staff also provided input for a course on participatory extension organized by the MoARD for federal and regional staff.  IPMS staff conducted awareness raising and training sessions on innovations in extension - global experiences, agricultural innovation and scaling out and, gender and HIV/AIDS issues in agriculture to a group of about 125 extension staff from various woredas of Tigray on 13th May 2007 in Wukro TVET. 10  A presentation was made to the Oromiya BoARD, on the request of the Extension BPR team on new roles of extension, innovation systems approach and implications for extension on 26th July 2007.  A presentation was made to the Amhara BoARD staff on alternative extension approaches  A presentation on project knowledge management and extension was also organized with the help of the RALC in Amhara Region  PLW staff held various sessions with the WALCs to familiarize new members with project strategies  Also see project promotional activities. 2.1.6 Gender and HIV/AIDS Toolkits for “Gender Analysis of Crop and Livestock Production, Technologies and Service Provision’ and “Conducting HIV Risk and AIDS Vulnerability Assessment at the Woreda Level” were developed. These are being published and will be circulated widely (also see knowledge management). 2.1.7 Environment A two day’s training workshop on agriculture and the environment was held from 23 - 24 July, 2007. Participants included Research and Development Assistants (RDAs) from 9 IPMS PLWs, ten Woreda and four Regional Natural Resource Management experts. The objectives of the training were: a) Familiarisation and training of IPMS and government counterpart staff in integrated agricultural and environmental management, particularly for participants for whom the topic was new; b) Review of the Environmental Management Plans for each Pilot Learning Wereda (PLW); c) Strengthen the monitoring of the implementation of mitigating measures designed to mitigate environmental impacts, as designed and agreed during the first training workshop held in June of 2006. Development of environmental assessments for the two new PLWs, Goma and Bure, is underway. 2.1.8 Monitoring and evaluation Two IPMS staff members attended a monitoring and evaluation course in Kenya and developed a draft training manual for the planned project monitoring and evaluation course at regional and PLW levels. The manual is currently under revision. 11 2.1.9 Woreda in service skills and infrastructure development Various skills development courses and fieldtrips and demonstrations (also see knowledge management) were organized for the Woreda public sector staff in fruit development, fishery, apiculture, fattening and market-oriented crop husbandry skills. It also included study tours for experts, WALC members and farmers. An overview of the courses is provided and participation is provided in Annex 3. 2.1.10 Innovation system and marketing research capacity A training workshop for researchers from the National Research system on “Application of Innovation Systems approach and Principles in Agricultural Research and Development” was organized by IPMS during 3-5 July 2007 in Bahir Dar. The purpose of this training was to strengthen the capacity of R&D practitioners in the understanding of innovation systems approach and its application in Agricultural R&D for enhanced impact. This workshop was facilitated by IPMS and ILRI staff. About 25 researchers from various RARIs and EIAR attended this training workshop. (See Annex 3). A practical hands-on training was organized for the Tigray BoARD on “Analyzing and Documenting Innovation Processes” during 16-20 April 2007. The objective of the training was to promote understanding of the concepts of innovation and related processes and develop skills and use of tools to understand and document the same in order to support development of a scaling out strategy. The innovation systems researchers of IPMS designed and delivered the training. A guideline was also developed for this purpose. Consequent to the training, a team of Tigray BoARD members who attended the training undertook field work to document, identify, analyze innovations and develop strategies for scaling out of same. The innovation analysis guide is being translated into local language for use in training woreda level staff. The study is expected to conclude in October 2007, after which a regional workshop on innovations analysis is expected to be organized. 2.2 Strengthening capacity farmers and private sector partners An overview of the capacity development activities provided to farmers and private sector partners is provided in Annex 3. Particular attention was paid to the development of input producers and suppliers in particular fruit nursery operators and paravets and shopkeepers. 2.3 Developing institutional linkages and culture of sharing and learning 2.3.1 WALC/RALC/NALC 12 Members of the NALC were invited to a symposium on the commercialization of smallholder agriculture in Ethiopia, which was jointly organized by EIAR, ESSP and IPMS. This one day symposium was followed by a one day meeting of the WALC and RALC chairs to discuss/review project progress. In each of the Regions, RALC meetings were held with the WALC chairs to discuss project plans and progress. During the review of the progress, a schedule was made to visit the PLWs in the Regions. Each of the WALCs met several times to discuss the proposed program and work and budget and the feedback on it received from IPMS HQ. WALCs are now more actively monitoring project activities To familiarize WALC members with IPMS project activities, study tours were organized to other PLWs and regions. 2.3.2 Woreda commodity platforms Some commodity platforms have been organized e.g a fishery enterprise platform in Fogera, an apiculture platform in Goma and a fattening platform in Alamata. Most of the platforms formed still have an informal nature with no fixed meeting times. The use and functioning of these platforms will receive more attention in the next six months. 2.3.3 Other events/structures in which IPMS is participating IPMS staff took part in several conferences, seminars and platforms organized by other projects to promote project ideas and concepts (see promotion activities). 2.4 Assessment of innovation capacity development outputs and outcomes The project’s second year output monitoring indicated that the various capacity building activities (see Annex 3) have improved the awareness, understanding, knowledge, and skills of farmers and private sector organizations. Most of the trainings were practical and supported with study tours, and farmers from various PAs including, on a smaller scale, individuals from the private sector have gained valuable knowledge and improved their skills. In most cases, farmers have started to apply the knowledge gained in their day-to-day agricultural activities. Similarly the capacity development activities have resulted in considerable improvement in knowledge and awareness of public sector staff. Other than knowledge gained through trainings, the public sector staff capacity to pass knowledge on to farmers has also improved due to the demonstration equipment provided by the project. Moreover, long-term training opportunities is being given at BSc/MSC levels, which are expected to boost the capacities of public sector organizations in the near future. However, some of the capacity development activities, in particular the follow up PLW/Regional level trainings on participatory market 13 oriented development and the planned monitoring and evaluation training are affected by the on-going BPR since many staff members are not available and major restructuring of the organizations are anticipated. At the request of the regions, these activities are pushed forward. Involvement of RALCs and WALCs in the project has improved considerably through joint planning and assessment of project activities. Presentation of student thesis and other research findings has started and should be institutionalized in the next half year. These can also be used to strengthen the learning within the platforms. The project output monitoring show that institutionalization of the project activities during the first two year was still insufficient and therefore increased attention needs to be paid through increased awareness raising of project concepts in particular at the regional and Woreda level. Increased emphasis needs to be paid to learning using WALC/ RALC and commodity platforms. The awareness raising issue will however remain an area which requires constant attention especially since major restructuring of staff, organizational structures, and working procedures are expected as a result of the ongoing business process reengineering (BPR) in the Ministry. The other problem associated with capacity development is the problem of organizing trainings without much planning on how to facilitate and effectively use of the newly gained knowledge. Since most clients and partners think training as an end by itself, attention should be paid to make sure trainings are considered as a means to achieve an intermediate-end, which is increased knowledge and skill and a longer-term purpose of actually applying the newly gained skill and/or knowledge to bring about change. Reorienting the mindset of service providers and beneficiaries from an aid mentality to a business-oriented mentality needs constant attention. With regard to the MSc/BSc capacity development it is noted that considerable time needs to be spent on “convincing” university staff that student research should not only meet academic qualifications but also address research needs as identified in the PLW and Regions. It is also noted that in the areas of extension and rural development studies, the importance of qualitative data is seriously underestimated. This is partly due to the nature of training students receive in the universities. Mainstreaming of gender and HIV/AIDS concepts in capacity development varies considerably among the various PLWs and this will be addressed in a forthcoming workshop during which useful experience between project staff/partners and other agencies will be exchanged. The project has developed toolkits and idea sheets on HIV/AIDS and gender which are aimed at facilitating assessments and design of intervention. Institutionalization of environmental assessment received another boost thorough the workshop organized during this reporting period. As a result of this training, it is expected that environmental monitoring plans implemented by the project will be included in the subsequent six-monthly reports. Some experts who attended these trainings are now motivated and are planning to embrace environmental assessment and consider it as a key component of their future activity when dealing with technology/commodity development in their respective districts/regions. 14 3 Participatory commodity development The expected project outcome for the project’s participatory commodity development component is the adoption of appropriate technologies, innovative input supply – output marketing, and financial services in order to improve agricultural productivity and market success in the PLWs. In this section, a summary of the on-going participatory commodity development activities and outputs are presented together with an assessment of the achievements of the intended outputs and outcomes. 3.1 Establishment of 10 PLWs Planning of the program of work for the period April 2007 – March 2008 was completed during this reporting period. Programs of work were prepared by PLW staff in collaboration with WALCs. Comments were prepared for each of the PLW by IPMS HQ. The two remaining PLWs, Goma and Bure, became operational during the reporting period including the establishment of WALCs and program of work and budgets have been developed. For both PLWs, gender and HIV/AIDS assessment studies have been completed. The Environmental Assessment plans and the baseline data survey are in progress. The targeted marketable-commodities are supported by knowledge management and capacity development interventions for the various stakeholders. Furthermore, the project facilitated the introduction of innovative credit in the PLWs. Lending institutions have been identified for all PLWs and proposals have been funded or are under preparation in most sites. An overview of the credit is shown in Annex 5. 3.2 Livestock commodities 3.2.1 Large and small ruminants meat and dairy development Production of large and small ruminants and dairy production has been identified as a major market-oriented enterprise in all PLWs, even though the focus of the production varies across the PLWs To improve dairy and meat production, the project partners facilitated interventions to improve the genetic resource base, fodder supply and animal husbandry Genetic resource improvement interventions To improve/maintain the genetic resource base, project partners brought in some improved (exotic and local breeds) in some of the PLWs. 15  Borana bulls and semen in Metama (meat)  Selected Fogera bulls in Fogera (dairy)  Washere sheep in Fogera (meat)  Begait cattle in Alamata (dairy) The effect of improved bull services (Holstein Friesian) for dairy production are observed in some PLWs (see input supply) Fodder improvement interventions Fodder is a major constraint in most PLWs and the following interventions for grazing land improvement, fodder species introduction, and the use of crop residues and concentrates have been observed/facilitated by project partners: Improvement grazing areas/natural pastures  In Atsbi improved grazing area management and improvement started some two years ago and has now spread to about 682 ha bottomlands (13 Rural Kebeles) and 448 ha degraded sloping lands (eight rural Kebeles). In the bottomland grazing areas, harvesting can take place 3-4 times a year while on sloping lands it can be done once a year. The bottomlands consist of 4,553 households and the beneficiaries own 2,105 cattle, 6,233 shoats and 503 equines. The improved forage-enriched degraded sloppy lands consists of 1,251 households which own 1,798 cattle, 8,332 shoats and 170 equines. Since the repeated harvest of biomass may affect future productivity, a demonstration was initiated to demonstrate/estimate the response of grasses (both in quality and quantity) to urea fertilizer applications in the bottomland grazing sites. The test was conducted in four PAs: Felegeweini, Habes, Barka-adisebha and Hayelom except the later, the three PAs consist of 20 test plots which belong to 20 farmers. Biological and economic analyses on biomass produced and grass quality will be estimated. Farmers’ perception on quantity and quality of the grass will be assessed in late October or early November 2007.  In Fogera, grazing land, which is infested by weeds like “Amikala” (Asteracantha longifolia) is being reclaimed with the help of community efforts to remove weeds, over sowing with grasses and legumes and the introduction of community management. A demonstration has been initiated in one PA this year. Last year’s demonstration plot in another PA is being managed by the community.  In Alamata, swampy areas in two locations, previously used for uncontrolled grazing are partly converted to crop land. Identification of saline soil tolerant forage species is underway for areas which are still waterlogged. The sites will also be used to test improved fodder species (see species introduction).  In Meisso pastoralists/farmers were encouraged to enrich their natural pastures and remove weeds so that their livestock will benefit from them. 16  In Bure, project partners managed to convince the community to practice enclosure of natural grazing land. Fodder species introduction  In Atsbi Napier grass was introduced two years ago with cuttings from a nearby Woreda (Wukro) and ILRI. It is performing well in bottomlands, river bands and irrigated canals and farm boundaries. Virus free accessions of Napier grass from ILRI Debre Zeit with accessions No: 14984, 16083 and 16786 have now been introduced. A total of 6,991 cuttings of three accession of Napier grass were obtained from Debre Zeit and the cuttings were demonstrated by planting in seven FTCs or PAs. Forage seeds of five forage species (Bundle flower (Desmanthus virgatus), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana), S. sesban and Casia sturtii) from ILRI Debre Zeit station were also planted for demonstration on two FTCs and nurseries. Furthermore, forage species were also obtained from GTZ and planted in various FTCs for similar purposes. As a result of the introduction of Napier grass, 826 farmers have currently planted more than 28,000 cutting of this species along river banks and irrigation canals. Phalaris sp. Rhodes grass, Tagasaste and Sesbania are also planted for rehabilitating sloping lands but they also serve as a source of cut and carry feed for livestock in the community.  In Alamata, 600 cuttings of Napier grass (P. purpureum), 19.5 kg of short season pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), 0.25 kg of Buffle grass ( Cenchrus ciliaris), and 114 kg of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and many other forage species including labalab (Lablab purpureus) and sunhemp were introduced from different research centers in the country aimed at multiplying for seed/planting material multiplication purposes. In order to utilize the swampy areas (which were formerly croplands), 20x20 m plots were fenced in collaboration with GTZ – SUN, Tigray Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), OoARD and IPMS. The aim is to conduct adaptability trial of different forage species. Rhodes and elephant grass are well adapted at least in one of the PAs during the last rainy season.  In Fogera, Napier grass was introduced in backyards in order to improve forage supply. Efforts are also under way to diversify through introduction of many other forage species from different research centers.  In Bure seeds of different forage crops such as oats (Avena sativa), vetch (Vicia dasycarpa), cowpea and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) have also been introduced into 4 PAs. Similarly, dairy farmers have started treating crop residue with urea and planting forage plants on their backyard as a result of a training conducted by IPMS.  In Meisso, forages legumes like sesbania, leucena and moringa, cowpea;; Macroptilium atropurpureum (Siratro); Macrotyloma axillaris; pigeon pea; Stylosanthes scabra (seca), S. hamata and S. gramme; Desmodium intortum and D. uncinatums were introduced. Grasses like Napier and Rhodes were also introduced.  In Metama the project initiated participatory backyard forage development activity in 17 Awlala PA. Currently, one demonstration site is established and 500 cuttings of bana grass (Pennisetum purpureum X P. typhoides) were planted and are growing very well.  In Alaba, forage plots were established for demonstration purpose in two FTCs. The species currently under demonstration are pigeon pea, desho grass, lablab, oats and Rhodes grass. Crop residues and concentrate use  In Metama the use of urea treatment of sorghum stover was introduced (also see capacity development)  In Fogera, training was organized to illustrate the benefits of urea treatment of straw. Only few farmers adopted the technology.  In Ada’a farmers who practice cattle fattening got practical training on urea treatment of straw. All trained farmers received a practical training on this preparation but only 30% of the farmers had applied it and the rest of the farmers had not applied it due to different constraints. Even though some farmers tried it, the animals needed some time to adapt to this new feed. The animals resisted feeding on it, due to the new taste and smell. Therefore, they only fed on regular local feeds for the first few months. But after a while, the animals adapted to the new taste and this has led to enhanced animal weight gain.  In Alaba, training and demonstration on urea molasses blocks (UMB) was undertaken for 3 animal feed suppliers. Following this, promotion was also made in the district town market day where many farmers showed interest. After which 234.5 Kg of UMB was sold for 163 farmers from15 Pas.  In Mieso farmers have been trained to properly handle and use crop residues from ground nuts, haricot beans and cowpea and use it as supplement to cereal (sorghum and maize) stovers during the dry season. Around 130 farmers have taken part in forage development. The OoPRD has continued demonstrating the use of UMB to farmers involved in cattle fattening in towns and rural areas after requests were made for support on its use.  In order to improve the intake and possibly digestibility of cereal straw, (sorghum and maize), the project has made orders to purchase 3 simple choppers/cutters to be introduced to 3 PLWs where these cereals are widely grown. Improved animal husbandry  Improving animal husbandry for dairy and fattening is addressed through capacity development and demonstrations, including provision of shade, stall feeding, use of concentrates, animal health services and production timing. No data is available on 18 the use and the effects of the improved practices. However Mieso, Metema, Ada’a and Fogera PLWs have reported construction of simple shade structures for stall feeding of fattened animals. Fattening of small and large ruminates in the various PLWs has been supported by credit as can be seen in Annex 5. This activity will be expanded since the coming season is usually targeted for short term fattening for the Christmas and Easter holidays. To develop a market-oriented production livestock production systems, the project partners also facilitate the introduction of technology, organizational and institutional input supply/service interventions for fodder seed/planting materials, veterinary services AI/bull services and feed/concentrate shops Supply of forage seed/planting materials To facilitate the introduction of fodder species in the PLWs two approaches are used i.e. i) the public system for multiplication and distribution of seeds/planting materials and ii) developing a private system seed/planting material system. To develop the public forage seed multiplication/distribution system the Farmer Training Center (FTCs) are used and the following experiences are worth noting:  In Alamata, the OoARD made preparation of seed supply from one of their nursery site for 2007 rain season. The IPMS staff also communicated with appropriate research centers and introduced newly released forage varieties to be sown at nursery sites and FTCs. One FTC has started distributing the seeds and cuttings of forage crops  In Atsbi, 3 accessions of Napier grass have been planted in 7 FTCs and these are going to be future sources of planting materials to many farmers. To develop the private forage seed multiplication/distribution system farmers in some PLWs started multiplying their own seed.  In Mieso, some farmers have managed to supply forage seeds and related planting materials. Elephant grass cuttings and seeds of Sesbania, luceana, moringa, cowpea, back wheat and Rhodes grass will be easily available for the coming season.  In Alaba, the already established forage seed shopkeeper has established a private seed nursery. This supplier was trained and supported by IPMS. The plot of land used for planting was given by OoARD and PA administration. The sale of seed will be organized through his seed supply shop.  In Alamata, the number of farmers who intercropped forage with sorghum and maize has increased dramatically compared with the 2006 rainy season. The advantage of improved forage production for feeding better milk yielding cows has been well 19 understood by many farmers. It is expected that in 2007 harvest, many farmers will keep their own seed for next year planting and hence establish own sustainable seed system for the future.  In Atsbi, farmers who have already planted Napier grass, Phalaris sp. and other vegetatively propagated forages along irrigation canals, river banks and gullies will easily be able to produce their own planting materials for the future. Veterinary/drug supply services To improve the animal health service system, project partners through capacity development and the provision of credit facilitated the establishment of paravet systems complimenting the existing OoARD system  In Alaba, six community animal health workers (paravets) gave service to 300 animals in 6 PA during this reporting period.  In Miesso, eight paravets were trained out of whom only two are effectively operating in four PAs. This shows that more efforts are required for this intervention to be as effective as in Alaba.  In Alamata, training material on “major livestock disease of Alamata and its control” was prepared in the native language for used by DAs and paravets and is under publication Bull/ram service To improve the genetic base, project partners facilitated the introduction of private/community bull/ram services (see Table).. Table 2 Organization of bull service as a source of input supply PLW Bull breed No. of bulls Cows served PAs Metema Borana 4 3* 2 Alamata Holstein/Friesian 1 63 4 Ada’a Holstein/Friesian 2 1** 1 Fogera Holstein/Friesian 2 10*** 1 Fogera Fogera breed 4 1 1 * These bulls were recently introduced and only 1 started giving service. However, using Borana semen 42 cows were served which was organized by ARARI and IPMS. **A beginner young bull *** All in Woreta town In Fogera, three Washera rams were introduced in separate villages in one Peasant Associations (PAs) in February 2006. The rams are managed by the community and serve the 20 community without charge. In one village the ram already produced over 50 offspring for 20 families. The three rams which were previously operational have been sold. Farmers are happy because of the heavier birth weights, faster growth performance and the color of the animals. Feed/concentrate shops To improve fattening and dairy development the use of concentrates is an integral part of the improved animal husbandry strategy.  In Alaba, two animal feed shop owners started producing small amount of UMB. During the reporting period, they supplied the community with 234.5Kg of UMB which was bought by 163 people from 15 PAs adjacent to district town.  In Mieso, training was provided to look into the possibility of using a more flexible mix targeting different animals/products (dairy/meat). The possibility of using loose mixtures instead of blocks was also explored. To assist the producers in marketing, the project partners facilitated the following interventions:  In Alaba, leaflets were distributed to promote input supply shop during open market days. The promotion of the input shop is expected to have a substantial impact in the supply of agricultural technology. Dissemination of agricultural information was undertaken in open markets as a venue to promote services and technology. Previously, promotion of forage seeds, paravets service and input shop was conducted on market days to let the public know about the services and technology. During the reporting period, market promotion on the use and benefits of urea molasses block was conducted at a similar venue where about 900 farmers (200 women) attended. To support the marketing of UMB, leaflets were distributed. Livestock market data collection and dissemination continued using Billboards in the nearest market site. Market data dissemination will start in other sites jointly with LVIA/OoARD/IPMS in the coming months. For market information dissemination, 3 market billboards will be established by LVIA and IPMS each in 3 market sites (2 boards /market site) in the coming months.  Marketing of the fattened animals in Fogera was organised through one of the farmers who also made contact with traders linked with the Sudan market.  In Mieso, some market groups are benefiting from the market information collected by the OoPRD every week, particularly on small ruminants. If at all possible it is intended to organize local level ‘ Mini –Animal Fare’ sometime in the last week of December 2007.  Milk marketing/collection groups in Mieso and Ada’a are continuing and expanding.  Cooperative milk processing and marketing in Fogera and Alamata is also continuing. A study on the performance and functioning of these cooperatives was recently conducted by an attachment student. 21 3.2.2 Apiculture Apiculture for the production of wax and honey has been identified as a priority enterprise for several PLWS i.e. Atsbi, Alamata, Fogera, Bure, Ada’a, Goma, Miesso and Alaba. To facilitate apiculture development the main production interventions during this reporting period were: Introduction of modern and/or transitional beehives and bee husbandry practices  In Atsbi, interventions included the provision of credit to purchase 114 colonies for 38 landless youth (4 female). The hives were provided on credit by Dima and World Vision. The impact of the project activities is however much greater through the Woreda wide capacity development activities.  In Ada’a, credit for transitional beehives was provided through Erer Framers Union financial management. So far about 18 transitional beehives purchased through this credit scheme. More farmers expected to apply for this credit scheme after harvest season. Monitoring of the earlier established apiary cooperatives is continuing.  In Bure the project partners facilitated and promoted the importance of modern beehives in all PAs except one. The effect of this is not yet known  In Metama, staff from the OoARD took part in beekeeping training in Fogera and is expected to develop a program in the coming months.  Stakeholders in Goma discussed modern beekeeping production, input supply and marketing. A program will be initiated in the next half year.  In Alaba, modern hives were introduced with the help of IPMS credit. A total of 17 farmers from 2 PAs purchased 51 hives, colonies and accessories  In Alamata, a start was made with training of farmers and OoARD staff in modern beekeeping in 2006. The farmers harvested a good amount of honey in the same year and became like extension agents in their PAs. From June to August 2007, about 54 farmers owned about 67 bee colonies and harvesting is expected to take place in October 2007. Introduction of beeforage  In Atsbi, the OoARD in collaboration with IPMS demonstrated bee forage enrichment on about 1,129 ha of land and 3.4 ha of homestead with best bee forage plants in 5 PAs/FTCs.  In Alaba, several forage species were introduced Lenorus, Treelucerne, Pahacelia and local forages in 4 PAs To facilitate the supply of inputs required for modern apiculture, the project facilitated the production of bee colonies and hive construction through various capacity development, knowledge management and credit interventions: Colony production/supply  In Fogera, 25 households (3 female headed) from 4 PAs started colony production using queen splitting.  In Bure,18 farmers from 6 PAs received training on colony splitting and queen rearing 22 techniques. The project provided 3 transitional hives for this activity. As a result, some trained farmers started colony splitting activity.  In Atsbi, farmers received training on queen splitting and some have started this activity. Hive construction/supply  Farmers in Ada’a are connected with private beehive producers. The PLC sold 16 hives to 7 farmers at Birr 450/hive. Farmers also received training in constructing transitional beehives with locally available materials. About 81 farmers trained in this program covering all the 27 PAs found in Ada’a. The impact in terms of hive produced is to be assessed. Wax production/supply For the modern (frame hives), wax is an important component of the production system and many farmers have to buy the wax from various sources.  In Fogera, a honey press was introduced/demonstrated to separate wax from the raw honey. Farmers so far did not find it very satisfactory. An improved model (developed by SOS Sahel) will be tested in the coming season.  In Atsbi, a mobile wax molding service is provided by Dima, a commercial apiculture company. To facilitate marketing and processing of honey and wax, project partners facilitated introduction of the processing equipment for modern hives as well as for the transitional hives.  In Atsbi, honey processing from modern hives is facilitated by Dima, a commercial company that operates a mobile honey processing centrifuge.  In Alaba, 3 wax printers and 3 honey extractors are operated by the OoARD. This is not a sustainable solution and will be tackled in the next season.  In Alaba, linkages have been made with traders to sell the honey.  Bee keepers and the coops in Ada’a were connected to honey market outlets. But honey doesn’t have serious market problem in the PLW  IPMS project provided market price information of honey at Bure every week. In addition, DAs are informed to link farmers with Birshelko military camp and Dangela beekeeping cooperative for marketing honey produced their PAs. 3.2.3 Poultry Poultry has been identified in several PLWs as a priority commodity, however until now little or no interventions have taken place, mostly because of the bird flu scare early on during the project life. In the past half year, poultry development interventions have been undertaken in 2 of the PLWs i.e. Alaba and Dale. The following production interventions were facilitated with the project partners: 23  In Alaba, the first two poultry groups were established in March 2007 in 2 PAs. Baseline data of the group were collected on 24 farmers. Training on improved housing and demonstration for 10 members of the group was conducted in April, 2007. One modern poultry house was constructed as part of the training. A credit proposal is being developed for market-oriented poultry production by the individual poultry group members.  For both PLWs, the project partners are also looking at developing proposals aimed at the improving the productivity of local chickens (see input supply). The following input supply service interventions were facilitated/planned with the project partners:  In Alaba, having realized the inability of Community Animal Health Service to render service for poultry health, 6 farmers were screened from 2 PAs to enable them to start village level poultry vaccination. This intervention will be further developed  To secure a more sustainable supply of chickens (exotic and local), a proposal has been developed with SARI for Alaba and Dale to develop village hatchery groups.  In Dale a credit proposal for 4 women groups (80 women in total) aimed at producing pullets (20 weeks) has been approved and has been initiated.  To tackle the chicken feed supply in Alaba, sample poultry feed preparation and marketing has started on market promotion days by 2 animal feed shop owners. Two hundred leaflets (in Amharic) were distributed on poultry feed and it was estimated that 2500 farmers (F= 400) attended the promotion session. During the reporting period 23.5 Kg of poultry feed was purchased from the 2 animal feed shop owners on various occasions by 29 people in 6 PAs.  Soybean seeds were introduced to 6 farmers in Galto, Guba PAs and Kulito town as poultry feed. In Alaba marketing of poultry products is facilitated through the provision of price information in market places (billboards and loudspeakers) 3.2.4 Fish Fish was identified as a priority commodity in 2 PAs in Fogera PLW. Two strategies are explored to develop market-oriented fish development i.e. fresh fish from lake (Tana) fisheries and dried fish from pond fisheries. A marketing study is presently conducted on the dried fish, which will result in a program for this component. A study on fish marketing systems by WorldFish revealed the importance of dried fish in the area. After completion of a marketing study on fresh fish from Lake Tana, a program was developed with ARARI the BoARD and the Fogera OoARD. The following interventions have been developed in support of this component.  After initial training (see capacity development), seven fishery groups have been formed (49 households) and a credit proposal for the purchase of boats, nets and other accessories was prepared and negotiated by the project partners. A second proposal 24 for the purchase of outboard engines has also been prepared and approved.  A follow up training was provided for the fishery groups in early June. One of the topics covered was identifying prohibited fishing seasons (July, August and mid of September every year) because of the fish breeding period. In July this year, one of the fishermen reported that the fishing is going on by other fishermen, even though the fishery groups agreed and respected not to fish anymore during this breeding season. Based on that report the OoARD, the Woreda Administration and the regional BoARD took several measures to address the problem, which ultimately resulted in ending this illegal practice.  To facilitate marketing of fish a platform was organized with the representatives of fishery groups, delegates of Ethiopian Fishery Corporation, the OoARD fishery expert, ACSI and IPMS staff. The following major points were raised and discussed and finally agreement was reached among participants. 1) The fishery corporation reflected high interest to collect fish from these groups as of 4/10/07, 2) The minimum delivery of the fish quantity per day will be 5 quintals from all seven groups, 3) The current price for the coming 2-3 months will be 325 Birr/qt for Tilapia, 275 Birr/qt for Catfish and 150 Birr/qt for Barbus, 4) The price will be revised at least 3 times per year based on demand and supply 5) The fishery corporation will collect the fish daily from Nabega and Wagetera PAs with their own motor boat and other groups 6) The fishery corporation will facilitate on the job training with their own expense to strengthen the fishery groups in order to increase the quantity of fish catch. 3.3 Crop commodities 3.3.1 Cereals (teff, wheat, rice, sorghum) Cereals were identified as priority marketable commodities by the project partners i.e. teff (Ada’a, Alaba), wheat (Ada’a, Alaba and Bure), rice (Fogera, Metama and Alamata) To improve the production of cereals crops the following interventions were facilitated with the project partners New varieties  In Bure, about 5,602 ha of land is planted with one bread wheat variety called Kubsa (HAR1685). To diversify the genetic base seven improved bread wheat varieties namely, HAR604 (Galema), HAR1868 (Shena), HAR1685 (Kubsa), HAR2536 25 (Simba), HAR3646 (Senkegna), HAR3730 (Gasaye) and HAR2562 (Densa) were introduced for demonstration in one PA.  In Ada’a, 2 Durum wheat varieties (Yerer and Ude) and cultural practice demonstration were conducted in FTCs in 2 PAs for demonstration and training. minimum tillage and fertilizer application (Urea side dressing just before flowering) applied in the trial.  In Fogera for this season, farmers were selected for rice seed production and farmer to farmer seed exchange system was established with 48 farmers selected in 4 PAs with OoARD and Adet Agricultural Research Center. The amount of seed provided per participant was made based on the national recommendation which was 80 kg per ha. This was one of the big issues that were discussed during the training program organized for the group. From the field observation it was found that two types of seeding rate were applied and the difference was clearly observable. Farmers experimented with the seeding rate and fertilizer application which resulted in some adjustments. Adet Agricultural Research Centre will adjust the manual accordingly.  A proposal has been prepared with TARI to demonstrate some new rice varieties (NERICA varieties) in Alamata.  To resume rice production in Metema, on farm seed multiplication activity was launched by the Gonder Agricultural Research Center in collaboration with the OoARD. This collaborative participatory action research work was conducted in three PAs (Kokit, Kumer and Gendawoha) with the use of three improved varieties of rice (NERICA 3 and NERICA 4 and SUPERICA 1). In the seed multiplication activity 37 farmers have been involved and it is being conducted on 5.75 ha of land.  In Ada’a, 5 teff varieties were demonstrated: DZ-01-196, DZ-01-1281, DZ-01-974, DZ-01-1285 and DZ-CR-358 in FTCs in 3 PAs. Minimum tillage, variety and cultural practice were demonstrated. Each variety was sown on plot size of 10 meter square. Row planting was also demonstrated with fertilizer application such as side dressing of Urea  In Alaba, teff seed multiplying group continued to multiply seed in 2 PAs i.e 57 farmers on 37 ha. The seed is produced on an agreement signed by ESE and Menchoneon farmers’ cooperative union. Past experience of teff seed multiplication was shared for the group and knowledge sharing was done on July 2 and 11/2007 for 57 male HHs. New crop husbandry practices  In Bure, farmers attempted to improve the efficiency of the traditional plough in order to solve ox shortage during planting. A single ox plough was developed by 19 years old student. The plough is fast and ideal for land preparation during planting compared to the traditional tool. Moreover, it reduces ox cost and animal feed requirements. However, this tool demands well managed and healthy ox. In addition to single ox ploughing tool, another farmer invented another plough which is driven by two oxen. The plough was tested in the field and the project is preparing a leaflet on these tools to promote them in other areas.  In Bure, knowledge and capacity development for wheat production was/will be provided on appropriate use of zero tillage, appropriate chemicals, composting and fertilizer use. Improved threshers will be demonstrated to avoid spoilage resulting in 26 lower prices due to ground threshing.  In Alaba, ORGA, an organic fertilizer produced form a byproduct of slaughter house, has never been used in the PLW and demonstration has taken place for wheat in the last rainy season. Orga and chemical fertilizer demonstration is being conducted in Habibo Furena PA with wheat on 2 farmers plots. Promotional activities were also organized during a market day. The session was attended by estimated number of 909 farmers. 250 leaflets of ORGA were distributed for farmers during the promotion.  In Ada’a, the variety demonstration plots for teff and wheat were also used to demonstrate improved crop husbandry practices To improve input supply, project partners facilitated the following interventions for the supply of seeds and other agricultural inputs Seed supply  In Bure, high seed price and inadequate seed supply forced farmers to use recycled seed. Farmers use recycled seeds up to six times but they know the inherent poor performance of recycled seed. A large number of farmers signed contractual agreement with the Ethiopian Seed Enterprise to produce certified seed of bread wheat every year. IPMS proposed to organize and capacitate these experienced seed growers as full fledged seed producer, processor and supplier to the community.  In Fogera, rice seed farmers are discussing the sale of seeds through a farmer to farmer system. The seeds obtained for the multiplication will be returned to the OoARD and Adet Agricultural Research Center.  In Metama, rice seed multipliers will develop a seed distribution/sale system in the coming months.  In Alaba, the teff seed multiplication groups will discuss improved distribution/sale systems of the multiplied varieties. Supply of other inputs/services  In Alaba, an input shop supply shop established by Menchoneon Farmers’ cooperative Union (with the help of project credit) continued to provide service for supply of inputs mainly agro-chemicals and fertilizers for farmers of the woreda. The shops supplied 701Kg DAP and 392 Kg Urea and a total of 775 litre agrochemicals (Malation and 2-4-D) from April to Sept /2007. Orientating session” training”’ was given by OoARD staff /SMS drawn form 3 desks (crop protection, input supply and cooperative) for input shopkeeper in June 2007. During the reporting period, the shop also supplied 100 Qt of improved wheat to farmers in 22 PAs.  Eleven farmers in Alaba were trained and obtained (project) credit to provide spraying services for crop protection. The service has just started its operation. To alleviate marketing problems, project partners facilitated the following interventions  The market price of bread wheat at Bure for the last five years were summarized and from this data the trend of bread wheat market price and months for lowest and highest market prices were identified. It also started discussion with the Guder bread wheat flour factory to start supplying wheat. 27  In Alaba, Market Billboard will be established with the help of the project, LVIA and the OoARD. In the coming months boards will be established in market sites to start market information collection and dissemination. Purchase of speakers is being undertaken at Head Office to disseminate market information in main market site, Kulito in the coming months.  So far rice produced in Fogera was of low quality which is attributed by lack of purity, uniformity and damaged grain that limits market dimensions. Hence, the project partners attempted to introduce the concept of grading. For this purpose, three types of different sieve size was introduced and tested during this reporting period with one of the privately owned polisher. Then two grades of rice were obtained, and market assessment was made during the Fogera Exhibition and Bazaar held in May, 2007. This resulted in the creation of a remarkable demand for the quality rice by restaurant owners and retailers who visited the rice displays in the exhibitions. A rice dish preparation training for restaurant owners is planned by ARARI and the OoARD.  In Alaba, a credit proposal was prepared for the threshing of teff and wheat by a private entrepreneur. The equipment will be ready for the coming harvest. 3.3.2 Pulses (haricot bean, chickpea, soya bean, field peas/faba beans) Market-oriented pulse/bean development was identified as a priority in several PLWs i.e. chickpeas (Ada’a, Fogera), haricot bean (Alaba, Dale), Faba bean/field peas (Bure, Atsbi) and soyabean (Dale and Alaba) To stimulate production the following interventions were facilitated by the project partners Introduction improved varieties  In Ada’a, partners introduced new Kabuli type chickpea varieties (Shasho, Ararti) which have now been grown for over 2 years. The partners are now planning to bring more larger sized varieties which fetch higher prices on the world market, including Ejere and Teji. Multiplication of basic seeds is on-going by the research system and the ESE. The project plans to support off season seed multiplication next year. The project also supports the partners in studying the on-going farmer based seed systems, including seed systems operated by private traders.  In Fogera, a proposal was developed with ARARI to introduce Kabuli type chickpea varieties for the coming season.  In Alaba, some new haricot bean varieties (Awash I, Dimtu, Awash Melka and Nasir) were introduced on 52 farms in 9 PAs for demonstration purposes.  In Mieso, project partners are working on the introduction of the white haricot bean varieties for the export markets (Awash Melka and Awash 1). Yields of up to 16 quintals are observed. No specific interventions were reported during this period  In Dale, red haricot bean varieties (Ibado, Nassir, Dimtu and Omo 95) were introduced on 90 farms (10 female headed) in five PAs. The purpose is to demonstrate as well as to produce seeds. It is noted that the red beans in addition to serving as part of the local diet is also sought after by traders for the export market. The project in the next two to three years will support first of all in strengthening the seed system by 28 involving new actors (the cooperative & the private sector) and secondly support farmers boost their production in terms of quantity and quality to ensure better marketing access. Some white beans are exclusively used at the 4 FTCs where IPMS provide support to make them effective learning places for farmers  In Alaba, soya bean varieties (Awassa 95, Williams, V.coker 240) were introduced on 44 farms (22 female headed) in 8 PAs.  In Bure, 3 improved faba bean varieties namely, Adet Hana, CS-20DK and Degaga are introduced on 2 farms in 1 PA. Improved crop husbandry practices  The chickpea variety demonstration in Ada’a is accompanied with some improved crop husbandry practices such as row planting and fertilizer application particularly side dressing with urea.  The haricot bean demonstrations in Alaba were accompanied with the use of ORGA fertilizers. The crop in general also benefited from the newly introduced crop protection services.  In Dale, haricot bean introduction was accompanied by demonstration of proper land preparation, spacing and fertilizer application  In Atsbi, pulses such as faba bean, field pea and lentil are traditionally grown under rain-fed conditions without significant change in the level production in the past. Recently, there has been a shift towards pulse production under irrigation during the dry season. This shift was triggered by the availability of high market price for pulse during the dry season and the critical need to decrease pest insurgence using crop rotation and the input of pulse to increase soil fertility. This is a typical example of tactical decision making of farmers to optimize market by applying sustainable soil and pest management. This reflected the flexibility and innovative knowledge of producers and increased capacity to respond to market signals. Project partners facilitated this trend and in 2007, pulses were planted on 234 ha under irrigation production worth of ETB 1,517,292. The beneficiaries of these innovations are 1840 (1417 male & 423 female) farmers. Besides, the presence of pulse flowers during the dry season is a major source of bee forage that can substantially decrease absconding and increase colony strength and honey. The parameters will be quantified using surveys.  The introduction of new faba bean varieties in Bure PLW was accompanied with demonstration of improved crop husbandry including row planting, spacing and fertilizer application. To improve the supply of inputs/services for pulses, project partners facilitated the following introductions:  The Yerer Union in Ada’a continued to supply seeds for chickpea varieties.  The cooperative input supply shops in Alaba started supplying fertilisers and chemicals to farmers (also see cereal development)  Eleven farmers in Alaba were trained and obtained (project) credit to provide crop spraying services. The service has just started its operation 29 To improve marketing of pulses, project partners facilitated the provision of market information in Bure and Alaba (also see cereal development) 3.3.3 Fruits In all PLWs, except Fogera, fruit development has been considered a priority, especially where irrigation possibilities exist. . All these PLWs except Atsbi required tropical and sub- tropical fruits while Atsbi required temperate fruits because it is a typical highland. To improve fruit production the project partners facilitated capacity development of service providers and farmers and on farm fruit tree demonstration. A more thorough assessment of the impact of the various production interventions by project partners will be required, however it is was interesting to note the impact of such interventions as illustrated by some cases.  Annual sale of subsidized mango and avocado seedlings from a government nursery in Alamata was around 3300 seedling. After field tours by farmer to two major nearby fruit growing areas, farmers bought more than 7,140 seedlings of both fruits and orange seedlings from the nursery and this could have been much higher had the supply been sufficient in the nursery. The field tours completely changed the perspective of farmers about fruit production and its potential in income generation. The Woreda OoARD was very happily surprised by the outcome.  Since the provision of knowledge, capacity development and the supply of planting materials of Cavendish banana in Metema, there are now more than 40 farmers who are involved in production. Two farmers are now operating around 1 ha of banana plantation each.  In Atsbi, apples have been introduced in one PA with the help of OoARD staff trained with the assistance of the project. This trainee in turn has also trained 50 farmers on apple fruit production and management. To stimulate the supply of inputs, in particular the supply of improved varieties, the project developed a strategy aimed at establishing a farmer-based fruit seedling supply system. For this purpose, it was proposed that at least 4 interested and capable farmers willing to start this as a business in their respective community were needed. Currently there are about 16 farmers who are engaged in this business (see Table … below). It is also planned that some more farmers, especially women will be encouraged to be involved in this activity. 30 Table 3 Number of farmers involved in fruit seedling business and type of fruit raised Number of farmers Fruit Avocado Mango Banana Papaya 3* 2381 300 - - 4 2000** 1000** - - 2 693 - - - 3 - - 2025 - 4 2400 2600 - 400 16 7474 3900 2025 400 *It is a couple in business; ** Root stocks ready for grafting These nursery operators are supported by building their skills in nursery management fruit seedling propagation as well as grafting and budding techniques.  In Dale PLW for example, 10 couples were trained. Out of these, 3 are operating in raising fruit seedling for commercial purposes. In addition to the training, farmers also obtained scions for grafting from the Melkassa Agricultural Research Centre of EIAR. This was especially so for the tropical fruits, mango and avocado.  Also in Dale as a major coffee growing area, more than 95% of the coffee seedlings are raised by experienced and reputable private nursery operators. The project encouraged and facilitated these operators to enter into fruit seedling production business so that farmers who come to buy coffee seedlings also easily buy fruit seedlings from these farmers. The same system will be used in Goma, another major coffee growing area.  In Metema where banana was introduced over 2 year ago a sustainable sucker supply system has been developed. Many of the new expansions in banana are from those farmers who established banana plantation earlier. During this reporting period, a total of 2025 suckers have been sold to other farmers at about 1 dollar each and still the demand is high. One of the farmers in Metema sold suckers worth of more than 6,000 Birr during the past 6 months. In addition, these farmers use their own suckers to expand their plantations.  In Ada’a, the two nursery operators obtained more than Birr 4,000 birr each from sale of seedlings. On the other hand, 3 couples sold 623 avocado and 215 mango seedlings at Birr12.30 each and earned more than Birr 10,000.  In Mieso, 4 nursery operators have prepared about 5,000 seedlings of mango and avocado to be sold between Birr 10-15 a piece, while 800 papaya seedlings each at Birr 1, and are expected to earn about Birr 60,000. This operation is going to generate a fortune for these farmers.  In Atsbi, a nursery system for the production of apple seedlings is expected to be developed in the coming months. To facilitate the development of this alternative input supply system linkages have been established between the suppliers of improved materials (State farm and Melkassa and Jimma Agricultural Research Centers) and the nursery operators. Linkages were also made with 31 government and NGOs who normally buy and distribute seedlings to farmers. As a result of these efforts marketing the seedlings was not a problem. For the marketing of the fruits, the project partners have also facilitated some interventions, in particular:  In Metama, linkage with big fruit wholesalers in the Zonal capital (Gondar) has been made for the sale of bananas. These wholesalers were also taken to Metema to see the banana farms. Attention will have to be paid to banana ripening process since almost all the banana produced in the country are ripened in Addis, after which it is distributed to all parts of the country (including Gondar). A very experienced ripening technician who initially started ripening banana using kerosene burners in Ethiopia is to train the wholesalers in Gondar town and some interested banana growing farmers. A rapid marketing study on the potential demand for bananas in Gondar was also conducted.  All the fruits introduced are of internationally recognized varieties and if the industry takes off after the project life, marketability of these fruits is expected not to be a problem.  Currently, many papaya farmers in Alamata have been linked to major fruit wholesalers in Mekele town (Tigray regional capital). 3.3.4 Irrigated vegetables (onion, tomato, cabbage, carrot) Different vegetables (mainly onion, pepper and tomato) have been identified for market- oriented development in all PLWs except Goma and Dale. IPMS and the partners have been involved in developing these crops through irrigation, but also under rain fed conditions. Production of vegetables was encouraged through introduction of new varieties, crop husbandry practices and water management. The following observations are worth noting:  In Metama, irrigated vegetable production (tomato, onion and leafy vegetables) is now taking place in 6 PAs and according to the OoARD, request for land close to rivers has increased. Project partners facilitated the introduction of improved vegetables, including 2 varieties of tomato and 1 variety of pepper (Mareko fana). Manuals were prepared and supplied for woreda office of agriculture while trainings on integrated pest management in relation to these vegetables was also provided. Many farmers have started producing different vegetables. To scale out the vegetable production field visits to early adopters farmers were facilitated as well as drama and discussion sessions regarding various technologies, including vegetable production.  In Ada’a, in a bid to support the vegetable commodity development, linkages between the research system and vegetable farmers were facilitated. Improved management practices were demonstrated by the Melkassa Agricultural Research Centre. Similarly, DAs and SMS also made visits to a site where integrated agricultural development is 32 carried out. IPMS also provided credit for irrigated vegetable production for buying water pumps in order to support vegetable production.  In Atsbi, demonstration seeds of five tomato, two onion and two pepper released varieties were obtained from the Melkassa Research Center. These vegetable varieties were planted in farmers’ fields and FTCs. The area of irrigated vegetable production also increased significantly from 12 ha in 2001 to 487 ha in 2007 with the number households benefiting estimated at 5,996 (of which 1198; 20% are female headed).  In Fogera, demonstration was held to encourage farmers to produce onion and tomato during off season to avoid market saturation. In this demonstration, 19 farmers were involved. IPMS and the district OoARD supported with the required seeds and technical support. In Fogera, 26 farmers in 6 PAs on 10 ha are now involved in onion seed production (a start was made with 3 farmers in 2005). One of these farmers is producing seed on 3.5 ha, while most operate between 1/8th to ¾ th ha. Total onion seed production for this reporting period is 6040 kg. Lab tests of the seed indicated that the average germination rate was about 93%. To ensure sustained seed quality and marketability, regular field assessments are carried out. As a result of this exercise, only 20 of them passed the field assessmnet, the remaining was rejected due to poor managment and pest infestation. It is intersting to note that famers produce seeds from bulbs, which they purchase from farms in the Afar Region. They have organised themselves in to 3 groups who buy and transport the seed bulbs collectively from Afar. Prior to the purchase, one represntatives collects samples, which are then checked for diseases by the Amhara BoARD.  In Mieso, there are 61 smallholder farmers (3 women) in 12 PAs, involved in onion production and they are expected to produce up to 240 quintals of bulb in total from an improved variety. The project partners also supported the establishment of private onion seed production system with 6 farmers (2 women).  In Bure, seeds of improved pepper varieties of Mareko fana and Paprika were introduced to 4 farmers along with improved management practices in 1 PA. In addition, farmer-based pepper seed multiplication under rainfed condition has been initiated with one interested farmer. He obtained 500 grams of Mareko fana (improved variety). The stand is good but is not harvested yet.  In Alamata, rainfed/spate irrigated onion production increased from 78 ha (2005) to 512 ha (2006) and 661 ha in (2007). This can in part be explained by the various interventions (study tours, field visits and market linkages). A start has also been made with developing one tube well irrigation scheme. Around 51.4 ha was planted with onions, tomato and pepper in the previous season and harvested in the present reporting period. The area planted in the rainy season was limited to 10.6 ha. IWMI will assist in the coming season to develop this and other schemes. Four farmers are now involved in onion seed production on 2.5 ha in 2 PAs. 33 To improve the supply of inputs and services, project partners facilitated interventions in the (onion) seed supply system, water supply and village input shops.  In Fogera, the seed producers currently sell the seeds at birr 130/kg locally. This effort did not only reduce the seed price from 200 but also improved availability and quality. Quality controls ensured through training and experience sharing among them selves and experts also contributed to improve seed quality. The seed producers group is currently working on branding (FOSP) the seed produced in Fogera. To facilitate the marketing of the onion seed the project facilitated market link with Alamata PLW.  In Metema, project partners facilitated the establishment of one private vegetable shop to sell seeds of different vegetables.  In Ada’a, one farmer has been encouraged to open a vegetable input supply shop. So far the farmer has constructed the shop.  In Alaba, the input shop established by Menchoneon Farmers’ cooperative Union has also been contributing towards pepper development by providing inputs, mainly agro- chemicals and fertilizers for farmers of the woreda. This union has benefited from IPMS’s credit scheme and 22 PAs are benefiting from this union. In order to support the marketing of vegetables the prorject partners facilitated the following interventions  In Alamata, the increase in the production of onion was also accompanied by increase in price due to the efforts of project partners to provide market information provision and market linkages. The market structure was found to be monopolistic and few brokers dominated the market and set the prices, which were well below the going prices in the regional capital. Linkages were facilitated with a union and four onion wholesalers in the regional capital and onion price automatically increased to about 4.10 - 4.35 Birr/kg in September 2007. At the moment, about 60 – 70 % of the onion planted has been sold and the price is still encouraging.  In Fogera, in order to enhance market linkage for onion bulbs, traders’ names and their respective addresses have already been collected and documented. Weekly and monthly market price information is collected by telephone and shared with the producers and brokers for onion bulb marketing during peak harvesting season.  In Ada’a, billboards/notice boards have been introduced in four FTCs to help provide weekly marketing information to farmers. In addition, when the produce is high and expected prices are lower, farmers have been capacitated to organize themselves for bulk sell. They communicate with wholesalers through cell phones for price negotiation.  In Alaba, a market billboard was established (see other commodities) 34 3.3.5 Oil crops (sesame, noug, safflower, ground nut) Oilseeds have been identified as a priority commodity in Mieso, Metama, Fogera and Alamata. To improve production of oilseeds crops, the project partners facilitated the following interventions.  In Metama, improved crop husbandry practices were introduced through various trainings including, minimum tillage (with the help of round up), weed management and integrated pest management (IPM).  In Mieso, no specific interventions took place, however observations were made with regard to the existing seed production system for sesame.  No intervention were reported for Alamata To improve the supply of inputs for oilseed production, the input supply shop in Metama was able to provide chemicals for the minimum tillage practice. Other shops also joined in this effort. To improve marketing, the project partners facilitated the following interventions  In Metama, efforts were made to identify potential sesame buyers and the project linked large scale sesame growers with the Agricultural Commodity Supply (ACOS) PLC. Direct communication was made among the producer and the trader verbal agreement was made among them. However, the rain pattern of this year was not favorable for sesame and this will create a problem for the success of this linkage. To address the post harvest losses problems, training on store management and fumigation technique was provided for private exporters.  In Fogera, last year a link was estblished with a German company and an Ethiopian oil crop export agency for the harvesting and sale of safflower petals. The petals (887 kg) were collected by children and women (from 16 PAs) and sold to a middle man on behalf of the company. The farmgate price was 15-18 Birr per kilo and the middle man sold to the agency for 20 Birr per kilo. There is an interest to repeat this activity in the coming season. 3.3.6 Coffee Coffee was selected as a priority commodity in two of the IPMS PLWs i.e. Dale and Goma. In Dale, the OoARD has accepted to launch a coffee platform and a meeting is planned for the coming month. The platform will address the issue of coffee stem wilt disease that threatens the crop seriously and the demand for the supply of new varieties. An MSc thesis on the cooperative marketing of coffee in Dale was completed (see research) indicating that customers are not very satisfied with the services provided and the business performance of several cooperatives was below standard. 35 In Goma, much effort has been made to scale out improved sun drying post harvest technology. The intervention is expected to increase farmers’ income by more than 30% provided that recommended practices are implemented accordingly. Through this intervention lessons to be learned include:  Pros and cons of improved sun drying process in relation to small-scale farmers capacity in terms of skill, labor, capital etc.  The impact of improved sun drying practice on the quality of coffee and there by on income of producer farmers  Effectiveness of community based coffee quality control mechanism in producing quality coffee for export  Verifying the profitable nature of improved sun drying so that micro finance institutions and entrepreneurs could step in the business in large scale For this intervention, credit was supplied for 300 farm households (9 female headed) from 11 Pas. Linkages were made with coffee exporters to provide properly dried and stored coffee at a premium price. This effort also shows the effectiveness of networking of small scale sun dried coffee producers, input suppliers and coffee traders or exporters for boosting production, improving quality and generating better price for producers and the nation at large. The supply of the inputs required for the sun drying and post harvesting technology was to be channeled through private input suppliers, however due to lack of time it was organized through the micro finance and the OoARD. In total the following items were supplied on credit (4095 m Poly sheet, 4095 m shade net, 4095 m chicken wire, 4095 m Hessian cloth, 2300 jute sacks). Attention was also paid to the supply of farm implements which was repeatedly reported to be major constraints in coffee production. After an assessment to find out the quality tools needed by farmers, the quality items needed were found in Ambasel Trading PLC. Samples of each item were bought and displayed in 5 locations. Now 5 rural farm tools shops are opened by farmer traders. A credit proposal was prepared by the OoARD and the micro finance institution - the purchase of 2000 machetes, 300 zapas and 150 sickles is progressing. It was interesting to note that the price of farm tools is found to be much cheaper than in Goma market and after displaying the items in the shops, more than 500 farmers are registered to buy the items on cash. A strong linkage has been also been established with Ambasel Trading PLC to open distribution shop in Agaro town. 3.3.7 Hot pepper Hot pepper is a major marketable commodity in Alaba and Bure PLWs and an emerging commodity in some other PLWs i.e. Alamata. Interventions included:  Introduction of improved variety mareko fana and Paprika  Farmer based pepper seed multiplication  Organizing women to generate income through pepper processing activities (value 36 addition) To improve production, project partners facilitated the following interventions.  In Alaba, farmers continued growing hot pepper. No direct interventions in the production took place however the disease problems are addressed indirectly through capacity development and the introduction of the privatized crop spraying services.  In Alamata, farmers started producing hot pepper using drip irrigation in one of the tube well irrigation schemes. Twenty five kg of an improved variety, (Mareko fana), from Alaba PLW was distributed to 6 FTCs and 4 farmers (for rainfed/spate irrigation production).  In Bure, an improved variety (Marko Fana) and management practices were introduced in 1 PA. On farmers was also supplied with basic seed to start seed multiplication To improve the supply of inputs in Alaba the cooperative shop received credit provided through the project to purchase 50 Kg of a chemical/Mankozeb/ for Pepper from late April to Sept 2007. Beneficiary farmers were from 22 PAs and most of them are from the nearest 12 PAs adjacent to the Kulito Town. The privately established crop spraying service which was also established with credit provided by the project is expected to provide spraying services To improve the marketing of pepper in Alaba, an MSc thesis results on pepper marketing have been used to facilitate the following interventions  One of the observations made in the hot pepper marketing study was that balances used by traders were not properly calibrated, resulting in weight losses for the farmers. Pepper balance calibration was undertaken in Kulito and Guba Market on June 22, 28 and July 4/2007. A total of 49 balances were calibrated. Calibration service help in regulating marketing service and next step is working with partners on non calibrated balances and defective ones. Defective balances were 40% of the calibrated balances.  An MSC study and rapid assessment confirmed a monopoly pricing method used for pepper pricing in Alaba which renders farmer choiceless in marketing of their pepper. Discussions were held with traders to take legal measure on ways of setting prices and time of setting price (from mid night to day) on May 7/2007. A total of 11 people attended the session (3 traders). Additional effort is needed to be undertaken with joint effort of partners in the woreda and region offices.  IPMS and OoARD has requested the regional quality and standards authority to set standards for pepper in a bid to initiate quality focused pricing at local market.  In Bure, a women group has been established to initiate small scale pepper processing. 37 3.3.8 Spices  Spices were identified as a priority commodity in Dale Woreda, however no activities have been reported to develop this commodity so far.  In Atsbi, as a result of increased market demand, different spices have been introduced using supplementary irrigation (mainly from ponds). The area coverage increased to 94 ha (from 2 ha in 2001) generating an income of ETB 694,426 benefiting 1041 farmers (727 male & 314 female). 3.3.9 Cotton Cotton was identified as a priority commodity for Metama and Alamata PLWs. While attempts were made to address production and marketing issues in Alamata during the first year of project operation, these attempts were not successful, mainly due to the fact that farmers are no longer interested in the crop because of a lack of marketing/processing infrastructure and absence of appropriate varieties.  In Metama, cotton production declined in the past four years due to pest damage. Last year, the project in collaboration with the woreda office of agriculture introduced seed treatment chemical and improved cotton seed variety. This was demonstrated in few farmers fields. The result obtained were very promising and increased productivity from 8 quintal/ha to 25-33/ha and decreased cost of production. This year the practice was scaled out through out the woreda by the OoARD. This year 146 quintals of improved and treated seed was distributed to farmers who demanded the technology and approximately 1046 ha of land covered in 10PAs. The cotton producing farmers were also provided with knowledge/advise on improved land preparation (including the use of previously introduced Broad Bed Maker and use of round up for minimum tillage), soil and water management, integrated pest management.  To improve the supply of improved seeds and agro chemicals the project partners facilitated four new sources for inputs required for cotton production i.e. private input supply shops, cooperative, the cotton ginnery and the OoARD.  Efforts are also made to facilitate market linkage between cotton growers and the DAs cotton ginnery and discussion were made with the ginnery management body. From the discussion the ginnery has shown interest to work together at field level and to visit farmers’ field growing improved cotton. Moreover, the ginnery also decided to pay better prices for better quality cotton. If the ginnery follows price incentive policy for better quality cotton, many farmers will shift from producing local variety to producing improved cotton in the following years. 38 3.4 Assessment of outputs and outcomes in participatory commodity development Participatory commodity development is an ongoing process, which will produce outputs and outcomes in short and medium terms. This section provides an overview of the ongoing activities and summary of outputs. As can be seen from the information presented, the project’s commodity development interventions have identified and promoted various innovative approaches to production, input supply, credit and output marketing. New production technologies are availed to farmers. In some cases crops new to the PLW have been introduced, while in other improved variety/breed for existing crop and livestock species have been provided to farmers. Apart from provision of production technologies, efforts to involve the private sector in input supply are showing encouraging results. In this regard, establishment of farmer-to-farmer seed/seedling supply system, participation of merchants and cooperatives/unions in agricultural input provision and private bull station set-up have been realized in various PLWs. From marketing perspective, efforts made towards increasing the bargaining power of producers by grouping farmers for output marketing, forming marketing cooperatives, linking producers with traders and providing market information have also shown encouraging initial results. The project also availed credit facility through local micro finance institutions to individuals and cooperative who wanted to try out technological or institutional innovations. These results of the different commodity development efforts has been limited to a few farmers in some cases, while in other cases it was observed that a lot more farmers in various PAs have benefited. While credit has been introduced in most PLWs, it was found that proposal forwarded for review often lacked clarity, especially with regard to the financial analysis. Also, some PLWs had a tendency to use the fund for proposal which had little or no innovation. This resulted in considerable delays for the approval of proposals. Valuable lessons are learned in the process and some interesting results are started to appear, including the credit provided for the short term fattening in Fogera, where farmer’s selection and training was done jointly by the OoARD and micro finance institution and the number of animals for fattening was not limited to the normal two. All farmers, who participated, repaid the loans in full. It is planned to make use of a consultant to advice on credit intervention and capacity requirements. Most commodity development interventions are targeted at households in which both husband and wife play a role in the production of the commodities. Some production technologies are specifically targeted at women and/or female headed household, in particular fattening of small ruminants and poultry development. So far insufficient attention is paid to the change in the roles of female household members in the development of marketable commodities, including the access to the additional income generated. Considerable variation exits between the PLWs in women involvement in the commodity development programs. Women involvement in input supply and marketing activities is so far limited and needs to be 39 strengthened. 4 Improving policies and programs The expected outcomes of this project component are strategies, policy and technology options, and institutional innovations developed (from both research and lessons-learned), documented and promoted in order to enhance market-oriented agricultural development. In this section, a summary of the on-going research and promotion activities and outputs are presented together with an assessment of the achievements of the intended outputs and outcomes. 4.1 Knowledge management research - A student defended his MSc thesis successfully on ‘Information and Knowledge networks of women farmers in Dale woreda”. A working paper based on this thesis is under preparation. (Also see gender research). - An MSc student is studying access to and utilization of Agricultural Knowledge and Information by resettled farming Households in Metema. 4.2 Capacity development research - Approaches to capacity building and gender-differentiated outcomes: Four BSc students completed inputs looking at the process and short term outcomes of capacity building and follow-up entrepreneurial activities in Ada’a related to fattening of cattle and fruit and vegetable production, also focusing on husband and wife training. - An MSc student intern in her study of dairy co-ops in Alamata and Fogera captured the role of various forms of capacity building (including training of women, exposure visits) in promoting dairy related innovation and participation in co-operatives and the outcomes on gender equity promotion. 4.3 Appropriate technologies for market-oriented priority commodities 4.3.1 Commodity value chain components The following studies on production, natural resource management and input supply were completed - MSc students completed their theses studies on the following topics: o Characterization of milk production system and opportunity to market orientation: case study of Mieso woreda o Production System, Marketing and Carcass Evaluation of Goats in Dale o Dairy Production, Processing and Marketing Systems in Dale o Production & Marketing Systems and Performance Potential of Sheep in Alaba (a working paper is developed on this study – see Annex 1) - IPMS summarized the livestock input supply system based on the initial participatory assessment and baseline data in the PLWs together with macro level data. A working 40 paper entitled “Challenges and Opportunities in Input Supply and Service Provision for Market-oriented Livestock Development in Ethiopia” is under preparation. - IPMS summarized crop and livestock input supply system based on the initial participatory assessment and baseline data in the PLWs. A working paper entitled: “Improving the Competitiveness of Agricultural Input Markets in Ethiopia: Experiences since 1991” is under preparation. - SAPTECH/IPMS prepared a working paper on apiculture development in Ada’a entitled “Approaches, Methods and Processes for Innovative Apiculture Development: Experiences from Ada’a-Liben Woreda, Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia”. - Six DVM students completed studies on major animal diseases in 6 PLWs, and students for the remaining PLWs have started their studies. The following studies on production, natural resource management and input supply are on- going/initiated/under preparation: - MSc thesis research o Impact of beekeeping on household income and food security in Atsbi and Wukro Woredas, Tigray region o Characterization of cattle production systems, processing and marketing of dairy and meat products in Metema Woreda, Amhara Region o A study on poultry production system, performance of local chicken ecotypes and market linkages in Fogera Woreda, Amhara Region o A study on poultry production and marketing in Dale Woreda, Southern Region o Cattle production systems and off take by export abattoirs in Ethiopia o Characterization of rangeland resources, utilization practices, condition, and quality and opportunities for developing livestock feed resources in Metema District of North Gonder Zone, Ethiopia o Apiculture contribution to income and welfare in Atsbi o Scenario analysis of the proposed upland rice production through GIS and RS techniques in Fogera Wereda o Characterization of goat production and marketing systems in Metema o Characterization of sheep production and marketing systems in Bure o Cattle fattening and marketing system in Bure o Determinants and role of farmer’s seed and seedling multiplication o Water management institutions in Ada’a and Atsbi IPMS/RARIs collaborative research activities - ARARI research in Metema and Fogera o Establishment of rice production system through participatory on-farm seed multiplication and dissemination of rice technologies in Metema. o Scaling out upland NERICA rice varieties in Fogera Woreda o Scaling up of chickpea varietal dissemination and management practice with farmers participation in Fogera Woreda 41 o Participatory onion and production and post-harvest handling techniques in Fogera Woreda o Comparative study on growth, reproduction performance and beef production potential of local Zebu and Boran x Local Zebu crosses in Metema o Community-based sheep and goat breeding, meat production and marketing in IPMS PLWs – Metema o Scaling out of fattening system and economics of cattle fattening in Metema o Community bull service scheme at Quehar Michael and Woreta Zuria villages in Fogera Woreda o Urban and peri-urban dairy development in and around Bahir Dar town, including Fogera o Market-oriented fishery resources development at Fogera Woreda o Demonstration and popularization of different queen rearing techniques at Fogera Woreda o Reclamation of weed invaded rangeland in Fogera Woreda: An option for increased feed production. - SARI studies in Alaba and Dale o Community-based sheep and goat breeding, meat production and marketing in Alaba and Dale PLWs o Dairy production, processing and marketing system development in milk sheds in Southern Ethiopia o Characterization of indigenous poultry production system in Alaba and transformation into market orientation in Alaba and Dale Woreda of Southern Region o Scaling up the promotion of soya bean production in Dale and Alaba - ORARI studies in Miesso o Improvements in community based small holder dairy production and marketing systems in Mieso PLW, Western Hararghe o Scaling up of cattle fattening and marketing using available resources in Mieso PLW in Western Harerghe, Oromia Region, Ethiopia o Community-based goat breeding, meat production and marketing in Mieso - TARI studies Atsbi and Alamata o Fattening development in Alamata – proposal finalized o Rice introduction in Alamata – proposal finalized o Vegetable seed supply system in Alamata – proposal finalized. o Vegetable and spice development including multiplication system in Atsbi – proposal being finalized - EIAR studies 42 o Chickpea seed multiplication system in Ada’a with DZARC (in partnership with ICRISAT) – proposal being finalized o Coffee development in Gomma with Jimma ARC – proposal being finalized o Fruit development including alternative seedling supply systems for several PLWs – proposal being finalized - Jimma University (under preparation) in Goma PLW o Indigenous poultry production and marketing o Small ruminants production and marketing o Dairy production and marketing o Beef production and marketing o Apiculture production and marketing The research conducted on production natural resource management and input supply includes in some cases the documentation of organizational and institutional innovations. Marketing research The following marketing research studies were completed: - MSc students completed their thesis research on the following topics: o Cooperative coffee marketing in Dale o Vegetable marketing chain study in Fogera - ICRISAT/EIAR completed the chickpea marketing study in Ada’a. Comments were provided by IPMS and a working paper is under preparation - CIAT provided a second draft for the haricot bean marketing study for Dale and Alaba. Comments were given by IPMS and final revision is expected, however a delay is expected since CIAT staff have left. - IPMS prepared a paper on the live animal marketing based on a rapid market assessment. A working paper is under preparation - IPMS conducted a study on feed marketing in the selected with the help of a consultant. A working paper is under preparation. - Volunteers from the Farmer to Farmer (FtF) Organization in USA completed rapid feasibility studies on: o Bahir Dar Milkshed including Fogera o Milk marketing in Ada’a Liben Cooperative o Business plan for lentil processing Erer Union in Ada The following marketing research studies are on-going/initiated - MSc thesis research o Cotton marketing chain study for Metema o Analysis of the role of cooperatives in agricultural input and output marketing in the southern zone of Tigray o Analysis of the role of cooperatives in agricultural input and output marketing 43 in the eastern zone of Tigray o Market chain analysis of small ruminants production in Alaba and Dale o Other thesis proposals are being prepared. - A vegetable marketing chain study in Atsbi by TARI - Rice dish promotion study in Fogera by ARARI - Dried fish marketing value chain study Fogera by ARARI - A study on the Mekelle milkshed by a volunteer of FtF 4.3.2 Innovations and innovation processes The following MSc theses on commodity innovation/extension were completed: - The effectiveness of agricultural development training programs using cases of teff and poultry in Alaba. - The adoption of improved boxhive in Atsbi and factors influencing the same. - A study on small ruminant extension package adoption in Mieso. - A study on dairy extension and adoption of dairy package in Fogera. - The adoption of improved haricot bean packages in Alaba. All these completed studies provide an indication of how the extension systems and package approaches operate and throw light on a number of policy options that warrant attention. Most of these studies are in the process of being converted into working papers and they will also be used to synthesize and reflect on extension package approaches in general. - Several studies on commodity innovations/extension were initiated during this reporting period. The studies initiated by the regional research partners on value chain components also include documentation of processes. - MSc thesis study on dairy service delivery system in Ada’a to understand the existing service delivery systems and explore opportunities and constraints in the policy and institutional environment for pluralistic service delivery in the dairy sector. - MSc thesis on the role of social networks in diffusion of agricultural innovation using the case of sorghum technology package in Metema. - MSc thesis on the access of smallholder farmers to formal credit in Metema. - SARI study on livestock extension in the southern region - BoARD in Tigray including TARI is documenting innovations in Tigray State with the help of IPMS staff (also see capacity development). - IPMS project staff in collaboration with the OoARD staff are documenting processes on major commodity innovations. Particular attention is being paid to fruit nursery development across the PLWs. - A research framework has been developed and instruments have been designed to understand and analyze the dairy and forage innovation systems in IPMS PLWs, led by a Research Fellow from Haramaya University. The field work will commence in October. The framework is being adapted to be applied to understand innovation processes related to irrigated fruit and vegetable development, in collaboration with Melkassa University. A similar study is planned to commence in October in Mieso in case of large and small ruminant fattening by an MSc student from Humboldt 44 University, Berlin. 4.4 Environment research As a result of the recent introduction of irrigation for vegetable production in Atsbi PLW, many farmers started using shallow wells. This was believed to cause the lowering of water table and hence alternative irrigation methods were planned. Therefore, a study was conducted to see the effects of the current level of water abstraction for irrigation to produce vegetables. The study showed that because of the good watershed management system established around the farmlands, the amount of water used for irrigation is very low. However, this might change with alterations in the watershed management and number of hectares under irrigation. This study therefore set a case for the future that experts have to always be able to monitor their environment very closely. The environmental assessment studies for Bure and Goma are on-going. 4.5 Gender and HIV/AIDS research - The Gender and HIV analysis for the new PLW, Goma, was completed during this period and was initiated in Bure, the other new PLW in Amhara Region. - All research being undertaken with support from the IPMS project in the area of Extension and Rural development is generating gender disaggregated data and information, in relation to priority commodities - A student defended his thesis successfully on ‘Information and knowledge networks of women farmers in Dale woreda”. A working paper based on this thesis is under preparation. - An MSc student initiated his study to understand the role of women in promoting food security and market led agricultural development in Dale. - A student from Addis Ababa University will be submitting her thesis on Women’s Land rights in Oromiya region in October 2007. A workshop is planned for November 2007 to collate practical experiences of IPMS PLWs in integrating gender and HIV issues into project activities and the indications of outcomes of such activities. This workshop will identify potential cases that will be studied in-depth to capture changes in gender-based participation in aspects of market-led agricultural development and on aspects of interactions between HIV/AIDS and agriculture in the PLWs. Design of the case studies will follow and will be initiated. This workshop will also identify successful innovative approaches to addressing gender and/or HIV/AIDS issues in the agricultural sector, which will become candidates for documentation and developing strategies for scaling out the good practices. Furthermore, active interaction needs to be fostered with Addis Ababa University in the coming year, especially in the areas of Gender Studies. 45 4.6 Promotion To spread the knowledge generated by the IPMS staff and partners, the project took part in several promotional activities as summarized below: - An overview of project publications can be seen in Annex 1. - An overview of the all the workshops and meetings attended by IPMS staff is attached in Annex 6 - A joined symposium by EIAR, ESSP and IPMS entitled “Commercialization of small holder agriculture” was held on September 24, 2007. The symposium was attended by the IPMS NALC members including the RALC and WALC chairpersons. A newspaper article was published on the symposium - The project website was updated and restructured - An electronic version of the newsletter was produced and is attached to the website - one newsletter was produced - Two idea sheets, one on gender and another one on HIV-AIDS have been developed. The idea sheets are edited in Amharic and contain brief descriptions on how to tackle problems incurred by HIV/AIDS and gender inequities. These idea sheets will be distributed widely in the next quarter. (this replaces the earlier planned posters) - The project’s working papers are in high demand and reprints have been made of all of them - Presentations were made by IPMS staff to the Oromia BoARD staff on alternative extension and innovation systems perspective - Presentations were made to the Amhara BoARD staff on alyternative extension and knowledge management for market oriented agricultural development 4.7 Assessment of output and outcomes policy and program improvement The project internal monitoring report indicated that a number of studies were conducted by the project staff, partner institutions, and graduate students on different aspects of the priority commodities and cross cutting issues. Even though the participation of the national and regional agricultural research institutions was poor in the past, their involvement in the design of interventions as well as in the documentation of the process and impacts has greatly increased in the past six months. This is partly due to better understanding of the project concepts and approaches, and increased promnotional effort of IPMS project staff. A clear 46 differentiation of responsibilities between IPMS staff and partners has to be developed to give credit where it is due. More work is required to distill lessons already learned so far. The project managed to recruit a local communication expert which will liaise with all staff to help strengthen this component. 5 Project management 5.1 Recruitment of IPMS and other staff Recruitment of the following project staff was completed during this reporting period with the assistance of ILRI’s Human Resource Department: Research Development Officers 1. Dr. Yigzaw Dessalegn for Bure PLW Three Research Development Assistants 1. Solomon Legesse for Metema 2. Dirriba Diba for Goma 3. Yohannes Mehari for Bure Two drivers 1. Mekasha Tafesse for Goma 2. Mesfin Eshetu for Bure IPMS- HQ Recruited 1. Lemlem Aregu for Gender Specialist Position 2. Samson Jemaneh for Marketing Research Assistant Position A candidate for the position of local communication officer was selected and the candidate is presently undergoing further screening (medical and referees) and is expected to join in November 5.2 Recruitment of consultants and experts During this reporting period the project employed the services of the following international consultants: - Jerry Rogers to assist the M&E team in reviewing the first output M&E report - Clare Bishop Sombroek to assist in preparing toolkits for conducting HIV/AIDs and gender assessment in Woreda and a working paper on gender findings - Ian Campbell to assist the project in conducting a workshop on the progress on environmental assessment Dr Lynn Mytleka advised the project on innovation system’s research in particular on 47 evaluating alternative methods of knowledge sharing The following local consultants were employed 1. Fanos Mekonnen, for the development of the agricultural portal 2. Adane Hirpa for conducting feed marketing study 3. Bedru Adem for translating HIV/AIDS and Gender Analysis paper from English to Amharic Dr Tesfaye Lema, joined the project on sabbatical leave from Haramaya University to work with the project on innovation systems research. The two postdoc positions (marketing and innovations) have been advertised and shortlisting completed. Interviews will be conducted in Novembber, 2007. 5.3 Contracting research and development partners The following agreements are on-going, signed or under preparation with the international research partners: CIAT: - TOT training in participatory market-oriented extension – signed/completed - Haricot bean marketing study including the completion of a working paper – signed, on-going - Haricot bean development and monitoring – to be prepared Collaboration with CIAT has been difficult in the past six month partly due to staff departures. ICRISAT: - Chick pea marketing study – signed/on-going - Chick pea seed innovations design and monitoring – prepared/on-going IMWI - Finalization/publication of water management modules – signed/on-going - Water management interventions design and monitoring in 4 PLWs – signed/on-going ILRI: - Tryps control interventions in Fogera and Dale – signed/on-going - Innovation system research and development capacity development - signed/on-going - Poultry development – to be prepared - Live animal marketing study in Sudan WorldFish - Presentation of marketing study results in symposium – to be prepared/completed 48 - Technical assistance for fish pond development – to be prepared (Expected further collaboration with ARARI on dried fish marketing has not materialized). No activities were developed with AHI and ICRAF due to departure of staff from these organizations. IFPRI staff who previously partnered with IPMS has joined ILRI. IPMS signed and agreement with FARM Africa for TOT training in participatory market- oriented extension. A memorandum of understanding was signed for partnering with EIAR for knowledge management, capacity building and research and development activities. An overview of the research undertaken with the research partners can be seen in the previous section. Agreements with lending institutions for all sites have been negotiated and finalized as shown in the table in the commodity development section Agreements were made with the USAID funded Farmer to Farmer Organization for 3 volunteers to look into the feasibly of dairy processing in the Ada’a and Bahr Dar milkshed and for lentil processing by the Erer Union in Ada’a. 5.4 Office establishment and procurement of good The offices in Bure and Goma have now been fully furnished and are operational. At IPMS HQ the office facilities were expanded to accommodate additional staff, visiting partners and field staff. The project also provided financial and technical support for the repair and maintenance of rooms allocated by the Woreda for the Knowledge Management Center The following capital items were ordered/purchased during the past six months Table 4 Capital items ordered/purchased/delivered during reporting period Capital item Quantity Status Desktops 20 Distributed to FTCs through PLWs Printers HP1320 20 Distributed to FTCs through PLWs TVs (Samsung 29”) 20 Distributed to FTCs through PLWs DVDs (Sony) 20 Distributed to FTCs through PLWs Projectors 2 Given to Goma and Bure Servers 9 Ordered Laptops 20 Ordered Laptops 3 Ordered for IPMS-HQ Desktop 1 Ordered 49 Toyota pick up 2 To be procured in two weeks time 500 GB Maxtor 1 Ordered Multi-crop mechanical thresher 1 Ordered for Alaba PLW (to be financed with credit) Purchase orders for ECEX and lime crushers have just been initiated as well as for motorcycles and generators for the PLWs. 5.5 Project planning, monitoring and evaluation The planning of project activities for the financial year April 2007 – March 2008 was completed by the WALC and RALCs with feed back provided by project HQ. During the reporting period one Board and Steering Committee meetings were held to review and discuss the proposed program of work and budget. The project monitoring and evaluation staff prepared a report on the project’s outputs accomplished during the first 2 years of work The CIDA external monitor conducted an assessment of the project’s program in the SNNPR including Alaba Woreda. To keep track of the various project research activities, a data base was developed, which also enables us to search on research topics, locations and research organizations. 5.6 Project reporting Project financial and technical reports have been submitted to CIDA as per schedule.